Rest areas in Victoria

Reading the numbers

Victoria’s 651 national rest areas are spread over 428 named localities, a fine grain that makes the locality column the quickest way to match a stop to a town on your route. The Murray Valley Highway leads with 38, but the next four sit close behind: Princes Highway West with 35, Princes Highway East with 34, the Western Freeway with 33 and the Calder Highway with 29. No single road dominates the count.

The facilities profile here is unusual. Barbecues are listed at 333 sites (51 per cent) and drinking water at 325 (50 per cent), both well ahead of toilets at 184 (28 per cent). Picnic tables lead at 391, or 60 per cent. In practice many stops are set up for a lunch break with water listed, but do not assume a toilet is there unless the place entry lists one. Accessible toilets are listed at 86 sites.

The places below are the entries with the most listed facilities, and most carry the full set of toilets, drinking water, picnic tables, barbecues, a heavy vehicle area and an accessible toilet. Glenrowan Rest Area, Pink Lake Rest Area under Dimboola, Lawloit Rest Area under Nhill and Coach Road Rest Area under Avenel are good examples. Some names repeat, such as Bungaree rest area and Benalla rest area, because the source holds separate records at nearby points. Check the dot on the map to see which one you are heading for.

A heavy vehicle area is listed at 290 stops, 45 per cent of the total. At those you share the space with trucks, so keep clear of the area set aside for them and leave room for long vehicles to pull out. The data has nothing to say about overnight stays. Rules differ by site and by whoever manages it, so read the signs on arrival, check with the state road agency or the local council, and open the camping-rules guide for Victoria linked on this page.