Erskine Falls

Great Otway National Park / Lorne, Victoria, Australia

About Erskine Falls

For Subscribers Only. See Membership Options.

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Erskine Falls was probably the most impressive waterfall amongst the cluster of waterfalls around the town of Lorne in the Angahook-Lorne State Park (part of the larger Great Otway National Park).

It possessed a 30m drop (some signage here might have suggested it was 38m tall) though it looked slender probably because it was a little bit on the light side in terms of its flow.

Erskine_Falls_030_11162006 - Erskine Falls
Erskine Falls

That said, the recent rains that seemed to have precipitated mostly in the Otway Ranges appeared to have momentarily fought off the drought that really impacted our waterfalling experiences during our November 2006 trip.

We also saw the falls in a similar condition on a more recent November 2017 visit, where Western Victoria was hit by a few storms prior to us showing up.

Had the rains and the wild weather not occurred, then who knows whether the falls would have looked anything close to the condition you see in the photo above?

Experiencing Erskine Falls

This was one of the easier waterfalls to visit as the route to its car park was all paved (see directions below).

Erskine_Falls_17_006_11182017 - Julie starting on a quick visit to the Erskine Falls
Julie starting on a quick visit to the Erskine Falls

The walk encompassing both the upper and lower viewing areas was short and easy to follow, and everything was well-signed.

Overall, Julie and I spent about 35 minutes to check out both viewpoints and all the walking in between.

We also had the option to visit Straw Falls, which was further downstream.

Given that it involved a bit of a detour on a much rougher track and it wasn’t a necessary part of a visit to Erskine Falls, I made a separate writeup describing that experience, which you can read here.

Erskine_Falls_003_11162006 - A more top-down view of Erskine Falls as seen from the Upper Viewing Area
A more top-down view of Erskine Falls as seen from the Upper Viewing Area

The upper viewpoint, which was a mere 80m from the car park, provided us with a top-down view of the Erskine Falls.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of foliage that was in the way that kept this viewpoint from being anything special.

In fact, it left us wanting more so we continued on the walkway for the remaining 140m.

This path went down several steps eventually getting down to the level of the Erskine River.

Erskine_Falls_17_015_11182017 - The track descending towards the bottom of Erskine Falls
The track descending towards the bottom of Erskine Falls

That was where the main track terminated at the second lookout area yielding a more frontal view of the falls (as pictured at the top of this page).

Although the official track ended somewhat set back from the waterfall, we witnessed numerous people continue the scramble to get all the way up to the plunge pool and base of the falls.

We didn’t pursue this in either of our visits, but we’ll leave it up to you to decide if you want to do this or not.

The Falls Festival

Finally, being a Triple J Radio listener since our first trip to Australia back in June 2006, it’s worth noting that Erskine Falls has the distinction of being the waterfall referred to in the annual Falls Festival.

Erskine_Falls_17_022_11182017 - Context of Julie checking out Erskine Falls at the lookout, which was set back from the waterfall itself
Context of Julie checking out Erskine Falls at the lookout, which was set back from the waterfall itself

This was a very popular music and arts event taking place around the New Years holiday.

The original location of the festival was located in Lorne though the more recent venues in the area were off the Erskine Falls Road (not far from the waterfall above the Lorne Township).

The event had grown from the single-day “Rock Above The Falls Festival” in 1993 into the multi-day, simultaneous-multi-location event that spans Australia in places like Byron Bay, Marion Bay, Freemantle, and others.

Authorities

Erskine Falls resides in the Great Otway National Park near Lorne, Victoria. It is administered by Parks Victoria. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: surf coast, lorne, great ocean road, otway, otways, angahook, victoria, australia, waterfall, straw falls, erskine river



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

No users have replied to the content on this page


Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:

If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...

No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall


Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls



How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.