Phantom Falls

Great Otway National Park / Lorne, Victoria, Australia

About Phantom Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Phantom Falls was the last of the waterfalls in Victoria that we visited in the Great Ocean Road vicinity.

Indeed, the forests of the Otways and the Angahook-Lorne region happened to be an area so full of waterfalls that visiting this one was almost an afterthought.

Phantom_Falls_026_11162006 - Phantom Falls
Phantom Falls

But as you can see from the photo above, this 15m falls on the St George River was attractive and worth the effort to reach.

Each time we’ve made a visit (once in November 2006 and another in November 2017), the falls had healthy flow.

That said, I’ve seen other photos in the literature showing the falls with even more volume and width.

Just the fact that Phantom Falls was flowing on that first visit when southeastern Australia was caught in a nearly decade-long drought certainly made me think of this falls as a pretty reliable one.

Hiking to Phantom Falls from the Allenvale Car Park

Phantom_Falls_17_010_11182017 - Crossing through private property en route to Phantom Falls from the Allenvale Car Park
Crossing through private property en route to Phantom Falls from the Allenvale Car Park

It seemed like there was more than one way to hike to this waterfall, but Julie and I took an out-and-back hike from the Allenvale Road access (see directions below).

This took us about 90 minutes to cover the 3.6km round trip distance.

The mostly uphill track pretty much meandered alongside the St George River, including going through some private property, which made this somewhat of an unusual hike.

From the Allenvale Car Park, we crossed the unsealed Allenvale Rd and onto the signed track, which skirted the St George River before entering a grassy area belonging to a private landowner.

Phantom_Falls_17_013_11182017 - After crossing the private property, the Phantom Falls Track still skirted this forest where the open clearing was still part of the private property
After crossing the private property, the Phantom Falls Track still skirted this forest where the open clearing was still part of the private property

I noticed that signage and arrows were strategically placed to minimize the disturbance to the gracious landowner enabling this route to occur in the first place.

Once we were past the property or farm, the path then skirted a fenced area sandwiched between the boundaries of the private property and the well-vegetated banks of the St George River.

The track would persist like this for the next 300m or so before the track started to climb in earnest.

The climb seemed like it was endless as it kept going up for the next 500m or so.

Phantom_Falls_17_025_11182017 - This was the steepest part of the long climb, which was right at the apex of the Phantom Falls Track
This was the steepest part of the long climb, which was right at the apex of the Phantom Falls Track

The steepest part of the climb was near the apex, and it was steep enough to make me feel like each step was burning my calves.

Once we got past this relentless climb, we were well above the gorge carved out by the St George River.

By then, the track had flattened out and meandered alongside the southern rim of the gorge with the river rushing audibly below.

Eventually, after 1.6km from the start, we reached a pair of signposted trail junctions leading to other trails and trailheads.

Phantom_Falls_17_040_11182017 - Water pipe seen along the descent to the base of Phantom Falls. I suspect that this was to divert some of the water from the St George River to feed some of the vineyards or crops in that private property we had traversed earlier
Water pipe seen along the descent to the base of Phantom Falls. I suspect that this was to divert some of the water from the St George River to feed some of the vineyards or crops in that private property we had traversed earlier

Sticking to the Phantom Falls route, shortly thereafter, we reached a signposted spur a short distance before the main track was about to cross over a ford (above the target waterfall).

Taking the spur track, it steeply descended a couple of switchbacks with railings to hold onto.

The track was also alongside some surprising water pipes before reaching the banks of the river below.

I suspect that those pipes were set up to divert some of the St George River for agricultural purposes like that private property we had passed through earlier.

Phantom_Falls_017_11162006 - Closer look at Phantom Falls after finally making it down to its plunge pool
Closer look at Phantom Falls after finally making it down to its plunge pool

That was when we were finally face-to-face with the Phantom Falls and its well-shaded plunge pool and alcoves.

While this was one of the more unsung waterfalls of the Angahook-Lorne State Park (let alone the Great Otway National Park), there were still a surprising number of people sharing the falls with us on each of our visits here.

Speculating on shorter approaches to Phantom Falls

I suspect that the presence of people could be due to the fact that there were multiple ways to hike to the falls in addition to the Allenvale Car Park approach that we took.

According to the maps, it appeared that the Erskine Falls Road approach near the Cora Lynn Car Park could be a slightly shorter approach distance-wise.

Phantom_Falls_17_034_11182017 - It might have been possible to hike to Phantom Falls from an alternate trail, which would have traversed the St George River immediately upstream of the Phantom Falls
It might have been possible to hike to Phantom Falls from an alternate trail, which would have traversed the St George River immediately upstream of the Phantom Falls

However, that would involve going across the St George River ford that we avoided at the top of Phantom Falls.

In any case, despite the misleading signage at the Allenvale trailhead suggesting the hike to the falls was either 2.5km each way or 2.5km round trip, according to my GPS logs, we went 3.6km round trip (or 1.8km in each direction).

Authorities

Phantom 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, allenvale, private property, st george river



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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.
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