Buckley Falls, Geelong: Lookout and River Red Gum Walk

Buckley Falls in Highton, Victoria, is one of the best attractions in Geelong. The best way to get to the Buckley Falls Lookout over the Barwon River is walking along the River Red Gum Walk from Queens Park.

Buckley Falls in Highton, Victoria, is one of Geelong’s most appealing attractions. On the Barwon River on the western edge of the city, this suburban waterfall is easy to get to and photogenic.

3 Geelong experiences to book in advance

A water bike tour along the coast.
A sunrise balloon flight – see the bay, hills and river from above.
Rent an electric picnic boat on the Waterfront.

Buckley Falls, Geelong via the River Red Gum Walk

Highton is perhaps the greenest part of Geelong. Queens Park is here, too, and it’s possible to access Buckley Falls on the River Red Gum Walk along the Barwon from Queens Park.

You can also get there by driving along Buckley Falls Road to the Buckley Falls Lookout, but you’ve got a better chance of getting parked at Queens Park. The car park by the Buckley Falls Lookout is small.

Buckley Falls in Highton, Geelong — Buckley Falls in Geelong is best reached along the River Red Gum Walk from Queens Park. Photo courtesy of Visit Victoria.

This is by no means the biggest or grandest waterfall in Victoria. Mackenzie Falls in the Grampians, and Toorongo Falls near Noojee are much more impressive. But here, it’s more about the riverside scenery, with the gum trees and bulging black rocks.

7 fantastic Great Ocean Road experiences
1. Crowd-beating reverse direction tour. 2. Surfing lessons in Anglesea. 3. Split Point Lighthouse climb. 4. Shockwave Zip-Coaster. 5. Guided wildlife walk. 6. Budj Bim National Park tour. 7. Great Ocean Road by motorbike.

Buckley Falls wildlife in Highton, Victoria

There’s also plenty of wildlife along the River Red Gum Walk. Sometimes swamp wallabies are seen by the river, but gang-gang cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets and tawny frogmouths are far more common.

You can also continue the River Red Gum Walk downstream and join the Barwon Aqueduct River Trail. There’s also a 20km, looping Barwon River Trail. But unless you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, this is probably a bit much.

Highton and the Great Ocean Road

Overseas visitors to Victoria are most likely to encounter Buckley Falls on a drive along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne. It’s a very short detour off the Princes Freeway, just before the Great Ocean Road starts in Torquay.

You can squeeze in a visit to Buckley Falls before going to the Surfing Museum in Torquay then the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and kangaroo-heavy Anglesea Golf Club in Anglesea.

The best places to stay in Geelong

The top Geelong accommodation options are:

For an affordably-priced, good quality motel: Parkside Motel.
For fabulous apartments near the beach: Vue Apartments Geelong.
For a family-friendly hotel with an indoor pool and balconies in each room: Novotel Geelong.
For a facility-packed holiday park: Tasman Holiday Parks Geelong.