Plans are being developed for the management and expansion of the trail network through the region connected by the Great Ocean Road.
Already popular with car-based day-trippers, the Great Ocean Road (GOR) region lacks attractions that can retain visitors for longer and strengthen the economy: trails for hiking, bikes and horses fit the bill. A draft Great Ocean Road Trail Strategy has been released for public comment by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.
https://haveyoursay.greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au/manytrails-onedirection
It has been drawn up in collaboration and coordination with the traditional owner groups, state government departments and agencies including the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Parks Victoria, Department of Transport and Planning and Department of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions, the local government areas of Colac Otway Shire, Corangamite Shire, Moyne Shire, Surf Coast Shire and Warrnambool City, and Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism.
The strategy applies to trails in the area from Torquay in the east to Port Fairy in the west, bound by the coast to the south and Colac and Camperdown to the north.
Trails included are:
- Anglesea Mountain Bike Trail Network*
- Surf Coast Walk
- Forrest Mountain Bike Trails
- Great Ocean Walk
- Otway Walks and Waterfalls
- Old Beechy Rail Trail
- Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail
- Camperdown to Timboon Rail Trail
- The Twelve Apostles Trail (Timboon-Port Campbell and Port Campbell-Princetown*)
- Warrnambool Foreshore Promenade
- Great Ocean Road Coastal Trail*
- Otway Hinterland Horse Trail*
* Proposed
You can download a copy of the draft strategy, take a survey and participate in online chats.
https://haveyoursay.greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au/download_file/view/1110/692
There is a video about the strategy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG6xo2ELZ6k
The GOR Authority says trails also support a range of economic activities and tourism ventures, contributing to the region’s reputation for outstanding nature-based activities.
"The Great Ocean Road Regional Trail Strategy provides a framework to guide state and local government agencies in the development of trails in the Great Ocean Road region. It presents a shared vision along with the principles, goals and actions required to achieve this vision over the next 10 years.”
"It aims to build on previous investments to establish the Great Ocean Road region as one of Australia’s outstanding trail destinations. It sets the strategic direction for planning, developing, maintaining, managing, marketing, and utilising an integrated network of trails in the region over the next decade."
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