Ranch camping in Victoria with wildlife watching
From skiing to surfing and scenic drives to fine food—Victoria has you covered.
- Victoria
Popular camping styles for Victoria
Dog-friendly getaways
Available this weekend
12 top ranch campgrounds in Victoria with wildlife watching
Star Hosts in Victoria
Under $50
Ranch camping in Victoria with wildlife watching guide
Overview
There are so many ways to go wild in Victoria. Fall asleep to the boom of the surf from your beachfront campsite, drive one of the world's most scenic coastal roads, glamp it up in the middle of a vineyard, or touch the sky in the snow-capped high country. If it's animal encounters you like, you'll love the penguin parade on Phillip Island and dolphin swims in Port Phillip Bay, as well as the chance to see koala colonies, mobs of kangaroos, and platypus-filled streams. Plus, the bonus to Victoria is that nowhere is more than a day's drive from Melbourne—many of the best campsites are only a few hours drive from the city—so you can cram a lot of fun into a relatively short amount of time.
Where to go
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne is one of the world's great scenic road trips, but there’s much more to see and do than snapping a selfie at the Twelve Apostles rock stacks. Zipline above the rainforest in Great Otway National Park, climb lighthouses, watch whales, surf iconic Bells Beach, and pitch a tent on any one of several beachside camping areas. Road tripping doesn't get much better than this.
Gippsland and the Bays
Gippsland stretches east of Melbourne to the sea and north to the border with NSW. Most of the coastline is protected by a string of national parks with fantastic seaside camping spots and holiday parks—and camping at Wilsons Promontory (locals just call it the Prom) on the mainland’s southernmost tip is a must-do at least once. This is also where you’ll find Phillip Island, home to the famous nightly penguin parade.
The Victorian Alps
The High Country is the place to go for winter snow sports and summer mountain bike trails, plus bushwalking. If that sounds too energetic, it’s also home to the Great Alpine Road, one of Australia's best food and wine touring routes (and yes, the scenery is pretty good too).
The Grampians
In the state's west, the Grampians are another mountain playground with a network of bushwalking trails, from quick 2-hour walking tracks to 3-day hikes in the Grampians National Park. This is also where campers can find the highest concentration of Indigenous art in the state. Opt for bush camping sites in the national park or more luxurious campsites at Halls Gap or Dunkeld caravan parks.
Murray Riverlands
Australia's longest river, the mighty Murray forms most of the border with NSW to the north, and all along its length are great beachfront campsites from where you can go for a swim or paddle a kayak, catch a fish, or sit back and watch the world glide by. Elsewhere in the riverlands, ride a restored paddle steamer at Echuca, take a cruise through the largest river red gum forest in the world at Barmah, and dine out in the foodie hot spot of Mildura.
