Who knew that there was a “mini Greece” just one hour’s drive from Melbournes CBD! The Pillars at Mount Martha are a slice of European paradise. Beautiful sandstone cliffs, with crystal clear water. But of course there’s a catch, The Pillars are also know as Melbourne hidden beach, no signage, no parking and no view from the road! That’s why I wanted to put together this guide so you can also enjoy this hidden gem.
I lived in Melbourne for the first 23 years of my life and unfortunately never knew of the Mount Martha Pillars. So I’m very thankful for coming across an Instagram post that inspired this Melbourne day trip.
The Pillars in Mount Martha are on the Mornington Peninsula are it’s a particularly popular location over summer. The pillars are in a residential area and going by the warning signs and difficult access to the pillars, it’s clear the locals don’t love how popular this spot has become.
I do think though if visitors remain respectful, be careful and leave no trace, it’s a beach spot everyone should enjoy.
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HOW TO GET TO THE PILLARS OF MOUNT MARTHA
The pillars are located along the Esplanade in Mount Martha between Marguerita Avenue and Deakin Drive.
The address is 434-450 The Esplanade, Mount Martha but if you type in “The Pillars” into maps it’ll also come up!
The parking around here is very limited, even up Marguerita Avenue & Deakin Drive, both of these streets are filled with “no parking” or “permits only” signs. But thankfully there are two sections of parking along the Esplanade. You’ll see a couple of wider dirt sections where you can safely park your car on the side of the road.
From both of these parking areas, you’ll need to walk along the narrow road [be careful because there is no footpath] and from your car, it’ll take about 10 minutes to walk to the pillars.
So as I mentioned there are no signs for the pillars but when walking along The Esplanade you’ll see a well-developed path leading down the cliff.
A few signs are near the entrance advising “danger”, “no entry”, “unstable cliffs”. I can definitely see why the council has gone to these efforts to stop people from swimming here, as the cliff is very steep in some areas and unfortunately accidents definitely could happen.
I took it very slow walking down to the water, especially while carrying my beach bag, but I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. Just be careful and I wouldn’t recommend taking young children.