Parker Hill Campground isn’t too far off the Great Ocean Road, but well off the main tourist route.
The campground is in the Great Otway National Park on top of the hill next to Parker Inlet, just to the east the Cape Otway Lighthouse and little to the west of Blanket Bay.
You’ll be able to enjoy some stunning views of the ocean and the beautiful creek that cuts through the beach below at Parker Inlet. You can easily walk a couple of hundred metres down the hill to the beach, with the track being part of the Great Ocean Walk that goes from Apollo Bay to the 12 Apostles. As Parker Hill Campground is on the Great Ocean Walk, plenty of walk-in campers will stay here for the night while completing their multi-day hike.
Parker Hill Campground has 20 individual campsites with half of them being for walkers and the other half, you can drive in.
If you’re brining your vehicle and want to park at your campsite, make sure that you book sites 1-10 as sites 11-20 don’t allow you to park right on your site, instead there’s a communal car park about 10 metres away.
Parker Hill Campground Facilities
There are facilities at the Parker Hill Campground that includes some drop toilets and rainwater tank with a tap. Parks Vic maintain the facilities and they’re usually kept quite clean.
The rainwater is just for a bit of cleaning up and as it’s untreated or filtered, you won’t be able to safely drink from it, so be sure to bring your own drinking water.
Booking a campsite at Parker Hill
Parker Hill is split into the drive-in and walk-in sections. The drive-in campsites are usually quite busy and booked well in advance. You can jump over here, to the Parks Vic website to book a campsite or check availability.
Booking is great as it reserves a campsite and the money you spend goes directly into maintaining the different parks around Victoria. If you’re wanting somewhere close by that’s free and can’t be booked, try heading to Aire Crossing Campground.
Getting to Parker Hill Campground from the Great Ocean Road
Whether you’re travelling from the east (Apollo Bay) or the west (12 Apostles or Lavers Hill) along the Great Ocean Road, you’ll need to take the Cape Otway Lighthouse road.
If you’re coming from Apollo Bay, the turn off is about 5-10 minutes after you pass Maites Rest. Otherwise, if you’re coming from the other direction, the Cape Otway turn off is about 30 minutes from Lavers Hill.
The sign for Cape Otway is large and hard to miss. Follow Lighthouse Road for about 10 minutes and you’ll come to a gravel track turn off to the left where you’ll see the sign for Blanket Bay and a few other places with Parker Hill being third on the list. Only a couple of minutes into your drive along the gravel track, there’s a turn off to Parker Hill, the road is called ‘Parker Inlet Track’, just follow this road and the signs all the way to the Parker Hill Campground.
Other campgrounds nearby
You’re in camping country, so there are plenty of other campgrounds nearby.
The closest campground would be Blanket Bay and it’s a ripper. It’s where the dirt road heads to if you didn’t take the Parker Hill Track turn-off.
For somewhere free that’s not too far away and deep in the dense rainforest, consider Aire Crossing.
Heading towards the 12 Apostles, Johanna Beach Campground is stunning and just behind a 3-4km surf beach. If the surf beach doesn’t excite you and fishing is more your thing, then Aire River Campground (particularly Aire River West Campground) is a great option as it’s right on a river that’s full of Salmon.
If you’d like to get as close to the Apostles as you can camp, call into Princetown and stay at either the Apostles Camping Park or a more a budget option, the Princetown Recreation Reserve.
