Guide to Lorne Victoria Australia

Lorne is the best-known holiday town on the Great Ocean Road, set on the wide curve of Loutit Bay where the forested Otway Ranges come down to the sea. It is about 138 km south-west of Melbourne and 65 km from Geelong, a town of about 1,300 people that swells many times over in summer, when Melburnians fill its beach houses, its foreshore and its cafes.

Lorne has a long patrolled beach, a fishing pier, the Erskine River running through the forest to the sea and waterfalls in the hills behind, with some of the best restaurants on the coast. It is also where the Great Ocean Road starts to get serious, twisting along the cliffs towards Apollo Bay.

Known For

• A classic beach resort on Loutit Bay
• The Pier to Pub swim every January
• Otway waterfalls and forest walks behind the town

The town is strung along the bay, with the foreshore, pool and pier at its heart and houses climbing the steep, forested hills behind. On a summer evening the beach is busy until dark, and the smell of wood-fired pizza drifts across Mountjoy Parade.

Things To Do in Lorne

The Beach and the Pier

Lorne’s main beach is patrolled in summer and sheltered enough for families, with a grassy foreshore, a playground, a swimming pool and the surf club at its centre. At the southern end, the pier is a favourite spot for fishing and watching the fishing boats. The Swing Bridge over the Erskine River mouth is a pleasant walk from the town centre.

Teddy’s Lookout

A short drive up George Street, Teddy’s Lookout gives the classic view of the Great Ocean Road snaking around the cliffs where the St George River meets the sea, and back over Loutit Bay.

Waterfalls and Forest Walks

The hills behind Lorne are part of Great Otway National Park, and they are full of waterfalls. Erskine Falls is the best known, but after the January 2026 floods only the upper viewing platform is open; the track to the base is closed. Sheoak Falls and the coastal walk to Swallow Cave have reopened, and part of the Kalimna Falls walk is open again, while Phantom Falls and several other tracks are still closed. Check the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority before setting out.

Pier to Pub and Lorne’s Events

On the second weekend of January, the Lorne Pier to Pub draws about 5,000 swimmers to a 1.2 km ocean swim from the pier to the Lorne Hotel, one of the largest open-water swims in the world; the 2027 swim is on Saturday 9 January, with entries opening in November 2026. The Mountain to Surf run is held the day before. The Lorne Sculpture Biennale fills the foreshore with outdoor sculpture in autumn in alternate years.

Great Ocean Road Museum

The Great Ocean Road Story display at the visitor centre on Mountjoy Parade tells the story of the returned soldiers who built the road between 1919 and 1932. Read more about the town in our Lorne guide.

Where To Stay

Lorne has plenty of places to stay. The Lorne Hotel on the foreshore and the historic Grand Pacific Hotel on the point both have rooms, Mantra Lorne and the Cumberland Lorne Resort offer apartments, and there are dozens of beach houses and B&Bs in the hills. Book well ahead for summer and January events.

For caravans and motorhomes, Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park, run by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, has several sections along the Erskine River and the foreshore, including Erskine River Park, which reopened in April 2026 after flood damage, with cabins, powered sites and glamping. Cumberland River Holiday Park, 7 km south-west, is a family-run park in a dramatic gorge. There is no free camping in the Surf Coast Shire. The road west of Lorne is narrow and winding with steep drops, so take it slowly with a van and use the pull-offs to let traffic pass; the inland road through Deans Marsh to Birregurra and Colac is the easier alternative.

Eat & Drink

Lorne’s food scene has been lifted in recent years by new owners of its two big pubs and a string of good restaurants along Mountjoy Parade.

Restaurants

Totti’s Lorne, in the Lorne Hotel, serves Italian food with wood-fired seafood, and its pasta with pippies is a highlight; book ahead in summer. Ipsos does modern Greek small plates, Raas Leela serves playful modern Indian with an afternoon happy hour, and the Swing Bridge Cafe and Boathouse grills Argentinian-style beside the river mouth.

Casual Meals

Pizza Pizza turns out wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas and does not take bookings. Bottle of Milk is the place for burgers, and the Grand Pacific Hotel’s bistro serves pub meals with views over the bay.

Cafes

Lorne Central is a beachside cafe known for its egg and bacon rolls, Kafe Kaos is a casual all-day spot on the main street, and the Lorne Beach Pavilion has tables right on the foreshore.

Day Trips from Lorne

Aireys Inlet and the Split Point Lighthouse are 20 minutes east. Heading west, the road hugs the cliffs to Wye River and Kennett River, famous for koalas, and on to Apollo Bay, 43 km away. Inland, Deans Marsh and Birregurra, home of the celebrated restaurant Brae, are a half-hour drive through the forest.

History

Lorne lies in the Country of the Gadubanud people, within the Eastern Maar’s registered area. Loutit Bay is named after Captain James Loutit, who sheltered here in the 1840s, and William Lindsay is recorded as the first settler in 1849. The town was named in 1871 after the Marquess of Lorne, and it became a holiday resort once the Great Ocean Road reached it in 1922. The Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 burned through the hills around the town. In January 2026 a flash flood swept cars and caravans into the sea at Cumberland River and Wye River, and closed the road for days.

Getting to Lorne

Lorne is about 138 km from Melbourne, about two hours via Geelong and the Great Ocean Road, or come in over the Otways from Colac (57 km) via Birregurra and Deans Marsh. Apollo Bay is 43 km west.

V/Line coaches run from Geelong station along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne and Apollo Bay, stopping at the visitor centre on Mountjoy Parade, and a seasonal bus links Lorne with Colac in summer. Coaches do not run on days of Catastrophic fire danger. Avalon Airport is about an hour and a quarter away.