Camp On-leash Highly confident, dog friendly

Johanna Beach Campground

Johanna, VIC 3238

A rare Victorian national park campground where dogs on lead are welcome, beach access included.

The Guide's rating

The rules, in short

Before you go

Dogs are permitted on lead. Parks Victoria's dog friendly parks guidance names Johanna Beach, all areas, as one of the designated dog friendly zones inside Great Otway National Park, and lists Johanna Beach Campground among its dog friendly campgrounds. This is a specific exception; dogs remain banned across the rest of Great Otway National Park and in most Victorian national parks generally.

On lead at all times. The permission applies to the designated Johanna Beach area only, so do not let the dog carry on into adjoining national park tracks and beaches where dogs are not allowed. The neighbouring Otway Forest Park, which is forest rather than national park, permits dogs on lead throughout.

When: Any time Bookings required. A seven night minimum, to a maximum of fourteen nights, applies over the summer peak, with a three night minimum in late January 2027.
Cost: Inexpensive A basic Parks Victoria campground, booked and paid through their system. Current fees were not confirmed, so check at the time of booking.

Worth knowing before you arrive

Basic facilities only, with non flush toilets and no showers
Bookings are required and minimum night stays apply over the summer peak
Access is by gravel service road and a short compacted gravel path
Johanna is an exposed, unpatrolled surf beach with strong currents, so it is not a swimming beach for dogs or people
Dogs are not welcome in the rest of Great Otway National Park, so plan other walks in Otway Forest Park instead
Shorebirds nest on Otway beaches, so keep to the wet sand and keep the lead short

About Johanna Beach Campground

Johanna is the exception that proves the rule about Australian national parks. Dogs are shut out of most of Victoria's national parks, including the beaches inside them, but Parks Victoria lists Johanna Beach as dog friendly on lead across all areas, one of only a handful of such pockets in the state. The campground itself is a grassy flat behind the dunes off the Great Ocean Road near Glenaire, with twenty five unpowered sites, non flush toilets and no showers, so it is a genuine camping experience rather than a holiday park. The beach in front is a big, raw, west facing surf break with no patrols, and it is the setting rather than the swimming that people come for. Book ahead, because minimum stay rules apply over the summer peak and the site is well known.

Which dogs it suits

Small Medium Large Giant

One of very few places in Victoria where a dog can legally camp inside a national park and walk on a national park beach, which makes it genuinely useful rather than merely pleasant. Facilities are deliberately basic and booking is competitive, which costs it half a point, but the policy itself is confirmed by Parks Victoria.

What is there

Toilets
Parking

Best for

a Great Ocean Road trip with the dog in tow tent and camper trailer camping people who want beach camping without a caravan park cool season surf watching

Getting around

Reached via a gravel service road with a short compacted gravel path into the campground, and an accessible toilet is available. Twenty five unpowered sites.

What members say

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Welcome

Space

Amenities

Safety

Members visited with

How dog friendly was it? required

Anything more specific? optional

Welcome

Did staff and other visitors make you feel your dog belonged there?

Space

Was there room for a dog without being underfoot?

Amenities

Water, shade, somewhere to tie up, bins for bags.

Safety

Traffic, fencing, other dogs, hazards underfoot.

Which size dogs did you bring?

What should other people know? When did you visit?

Nobody has reviewed this yet

If you have been here with your dog, you know something the official page does not say. Be the first to write it down.

See it on the big map

The details

Website: Official page
Coordinates: -38.7612, 143.3795

Highly confident, dog friendly

The dog rules come from official pages, and we checked it this month.

4 sources

Official Parks Victoria dog friendly parks Confirms: That dogs are not allowed in most Victorian national parks, including beaches that form part of a national park, and that Great Otway National Park is one of six exceptions, with Johanna Beach, all areas, listed as an on lead dog friendly area. Also confirms that adjoining Otway Forest Park permits dogs on lead throughout.
Official Parks Victoria dog friendly camping Confirms: That Johanna Beach Campground in Great Otway National Park is listed as dog on lead friendly camping.
Official Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority campground page Confirms: Twenty five unpowered sites, non flush toilets with an accessible toilet available, basic amenities, gravel service road and compacted gravel path access, and the booking minimum stay rules of seven nights to a maximum of fourteen over the peak and three nights in late January 2027. This page does not mention dogs.
Community OpenStreetMap via Nominatim Confirms: The mapped coordinates of Johanna Beach Campground on Old Coach Road, Johanna.

Last checked 20 September 2026. Rules change, and seasonal beach rules change twice a year, so check with the land manager or the venue before you travel.

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