Camping at Lake Elizabeth in the Otways
Deep in the forest of the Great Otways National Park, about 40 minutes off the Great Ocean Road is the stunning Lake Elizabeth Campground.
Camp beneath the giant Eucalyptus gums and Tree Ferns in the ancient Otways rain forest. Just a one kilomtere walk from Lake Elizabeth.
Lake Elizabeth Campground is dog friendly. As long as your dog remains on a lead, it can remain in the campground and surrounding area.
Finding where to camp
The area draws a lot of people from Melbourne and Geelong looking for somewhere to take their dog or escape the city for a few hours. Most of these people will drive here directly from Melbourne by taking the road around the back of Geelong, through Winchelsea and in straight into the small town of Forrest, which is only a few minutes drive from Lake Elizabeth.
Once you get to Lake Elizabeth car park, follow the signs to the campground that’s only about 50-100 metres away.
All day visitors will park in the main car park, but there’s a separate parking area near the campground for those that have booked a campsite with a 15 minute unloading bay right beside the camp sites.
Keep in mind that when it’s busy here, the entire campground car park fills up fast and you’ll need to park else where.
If you’ve got some time up your sleeve, then we couldn’t recommend anything more than taking the coastal route and following the Great Ocean Road.
Here’s a bunch of information about getting to Lake Elizabeth, either via the direct route or the scenic ocean drive.
Lake Elizabeth Campground Facilities
There are 20 individual campsites with a capacity of 6 people per campsite.
Campsites 16 & 17 are over the back and the most private.
All campsites are unpowered and there is no drinking water available.
There are clean, non-flushing toilets near the campground and no showers.
There’s a car park just behind the campground for those who have booked a campsite.
Right next to the camping area is 15 minute unloading zone but none of the campsites allow you to park on or next to them.
Each campsite is wrapped around the local flora which includes huge Eucalyptus trees. There is plenty of room per campsite although it does have a cosy feel. The trees and bush provide some privacy and it doesn’t feel like you’re in a fish bowl, but it’s certainly not private.
Unless you want to be as far away as you can and book campsites 16 & 17 that are in the back corner, then don’t be too worried about which campsite you end up with as they’re all incredible and either have a fire pit and park bench in the campsite or very close by.
Once you’re set up, then take a short 10 minutes stroll over to the lake. You can then walk a couple of kilometres around the Lake Elizabeth Loop, which is super beautiful and surely the main reason for coming here.
The campground and walking trail are dog friendly. Here’s more information about the Lake Elizabeth walk.
Booking your campsite at Lake Elizabeth
Before you pick where to set up your tent and get the fire started, you’ll have to book your camp site on the Parks Victoria website.
More and more campgrounds in Victoria require you to book and pay. We think this is great as it puts some money into maintaining the park and building new facilities. Booking also allows you to reserve your campsite and plan ahead.
Head over here to book a campsite at the Lake Elizabeth Campground and you can continue to use the Parks Vic website to locate and book other camp sites.
There are still loads of campsites in Victoria that can’t be booked, such as Aire Crossing Campground in Beech Forest which isn’t too far away.
