Bike Packing Rides, Gravel Ride, Overnighter

The Otway Rip Overnighter Loop

This Ride is Hosted byVince Masci

Taking inspiration from The Otway Rip, The Otway Rip Lite Loop aims to eliminate the need to commute from the finish of the route back to the start whilst still exploring the magic of The Otways and shredding a few km’s also.

Beginning in Forrest, the route takes in the wonderfully quiet gravel roads of Roadknights Bridge, Ridge and Carlisle Roads through Gellibrand and up to the fantastic ascent of Lavers Hill – Cobden Rd into Lavers Hill.

Lavers Hill offers the only real accomodation opportunity of the bikepacking route with Johanna Beach campground being a favourite camping spot of those who have completed the route.

Right before Lavers Hill, the route tags onto the original Otway Rip route and descends the scenic Blue Johanna Rd (with views over the ocean) before climbing back through The Otways and into forestry reserves with an iconic gravel climb up Aire Settlement Rd through to Beech Forest for a coffee.

Weave down the sweeping descent of Aire Valley Rd and through the famous Turtons track after lunch before another iconic gravel climb up Benwerrine – Mt Sabine Rd and onto one of the greatest gravel descents in Victoria (Kaanglang Rd) back into Forrest.

A truly magical experience. This route encapsulates what truly is The Otways with a real feel of escapism throughout. Definitely a must experience adventure!

Terms of use: Cycle this route at your own risk. Check local weather, conditions and closures before departure. Adhere to land use rules, carry provisions, safety gear and respect the trail. This information is intended to be used as a planning resource; accuracy is not guaranteed. BIKEROUTES.com.au are not liable for any incidents during or following this route.

This route takes in a lot of vert. in a short amount of time so come prepared with snacks and plenty of water
After Lavers Hill, there’s quite a long distance between resupply at Beech Forest and there’s never any guarantee that the cafe will be open, so bring plenty of food
Johanna Beach is a wonderful option to camp for the night with a huge sky full of stars. Just bear in mind that it’s a long way from the closest food store or pub at Lavers Hill.
Quite remote sections between Lavers Hill and Beech Forest so bring a gps tracker.
I’m not sure I would undertake this route outside of the warmer and drier months. Some of the gravel roads are still quite muddy even after a long period of dry weather.
Would suggest this route over two or three days. There’s not much in the way of accomodation if you intend to do this route over three and you’ll likely need to camp.

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