St George's Lake, Creswick

Swimming Hole Heaven in Victoria

St George's Lake was drained, dredged, refilled and re-furbished in 2015 so that it now boasts a swimming beach, a couple of barbecues and a couple of picnic tables. The beach is at the deeper end of the lake, so it drops off into the water quite quickly to several metres deep within a few strides from the shoreline. Above: The picnic area looking down to the water (Order this image)

It's great for experienced swimmers, but you would need to keep a close eye on young kids because of this steep slope. Having said that, when I visited there was one couple who had a little baby on the beach with them who was still having fun on the sand without venturing into the water.

The lake itself is quite pretty with a pine forest on one side and native bush on the other as your backdrop for a swim, and the water looked clear and felt fresh. According to The Courier newspaper in Ballarat (29/11/2011) the lake was used for long distance swim training by a local Ballarat swimming identity when there was a delay in opening his municipal pool in Ballarat. At over 400 metres long the lake is definitely large enough to train in. Above: The beach looking down towards the spillway (Order this image)

When I visited on a weekday morning, people were out walking their dogs or setting up picnics, including a local group of intellectually disabled kids who were having a whale of a time on the lawn. You can walk the 1.8 km loop around the perimeter of the lake along a mostly dirt walking track that takes you over boardwalks, through the pine forest and even across the top of the spillway.

It would be a fascinating walk (and swim) when the lake is just below the spillway level. The loop also takes you past the other two designated picnic areas at the eastern end of the lake, however these areas are smaller and do not have facilities. That end of the lake is also very shallow and full of reeds that makes swimming difficult. The loop walk also hooks into the Goldfields Track, which can take you all the way from Ballarat to Bendigo.

Below is a video that I took when I staged the unofficial re-opening of St George's Lake for swimming. It was a black tie event with a very exclusive invite list. It was also a beautiful, peaceful sunny morning.

Before you head out, make sure to read the swimming safety information and check with the managing authority for any current change of conditions. The marker indicates the approximate location of the car park near the swimming area at the lake. If the map is not zoomed in locally, as can occur with some browsers, simply click or tap on "View Larger Map" below.
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