It is impossible to walk these trails and not be moved by the powers of nature that have shaped and the shipwreck history that defines the area. Offshore stacks, blowholes and the indescribable beauty of formations like the Razorback and Island arch make this precinct the one with the lot. There is a map of the whole precinct viewable from the main car park and available from the nearby Visitor Information Centre in Port Campbell.
Location: Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell (8 km east of Port Campbell)
Geology Walk
Level crushed rock and bitumen surface 900m return this trail includes lookouts at The Razorback and Island Arch.
Loch Ard Wreck Lookout
Undulating bitumen access from the main car park to the headland lookout is 600m return.
Wreck of the Loch Ard
1.4km slight inclines on bitumen and crushed rock, narrow in places near the cemetery. Trail connects through to the south of the cemetery and on towards Muttonbird Island lookout.
Thunder Cave
1.1km sealed path that forms part of the 3.2km living on the edge trail.
Living on the Edge
3.2 km with inclines on bitumen and crushed rock. Visitors are not advised to cross the mouth of the Sherbrooke River. River mouth depth and width is variable and currents from river flow and wave and tide input are variable.
Mutton Bird Island Lookout
100m level on crushed rock to the upper deck of the viewing platform there are steps down to the lower viewing platform.
Walkers should make note which of the 3 separate Loch Ard Gorge car parks they parked at.
Download a map of Loch Ard Gorge here.
Loch Ard Gorge is named after the famous 1878 shipwreck on nearby Mutton Bird Island. Fifty-two people were lost from the Loch Ard and only two teenage survivors were fortunate enough to be washed into the only safe gorge on the coast.
Discover our many shipwrecks and the history of the area here.
Other people on the ship were washed into adjacent gorges and perished.
Loch Ard Gorge is unusual for this section of coast, in that it has a relatively calm interior. It has a low energy beach and moderate sloping dune that makes the beach accessible with caution in most tide and ocean conditions.
Sign up to get the latest deals, tours & events along the Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
