Fishermans Beach – Mornington – Perfect Family Friendly Beach

Welcome to Fishermans Beach, located in the town of Mornington. Also lovingly known by the locals as Fishies. (Throughout the rest of this article, I will switch between these two names when referring to this beach.)

I lived about a five minute walk from Fishermans Beach for many years, so hand on my heart, I can honestly say, I’ve swum at and walked along this beach hundreds, if not thousands, of times. 

If you’re looking for a family friendly beach, or a beach with calm waters perfect for swimming safely, then this is the place. 

In this article I’ll share with you everything I know about Fishermans Beach including details on parking, accessibility, toilets, dog friendliness and maybe most importantly, where to get a good coffee nearby!

So, let’s dive in!

WHERE IS FISHERMANS BEACH?

Fishermans Beach is located on the Esplanade in the town of Mornington.

It faces south west, with a view across Port Phillip Bay towards the city of Melbourne. On clear days you’ll spot the silhouette of Melbourne’s city skyline in the distance.

There are three main swimming beaches in the town of Mornington, and Fishies is the least crowded of all of them. The other two main swimming beaches are Mothers Beach and Mills Beach.

While Mothers and Mills Beach are located right in the heart of the Mornington township, a very short walk from the main shopping district,  Fishermans Beach is about 1-2km away from the town centre, depending on which way you go.

For this reason, the crowds are thinner at Fishies.

If you look at the map below, you’ll see the north end of Fishermans Beach starts at the round-about at the end of Barkly Street and stretches for approximately 500m down the Esplanade to Linley Point South.

FISHERMANS BEACH (MORNINGTON) MAP

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT FISHERMANS BEACH

There are soooooo many things I love about Mornington’s Fishermans Beach. As I said earlier, I’ve swum here hundreds of times, and not just because I lived in such close proximity to it, but for quite a few other reasons, including…

Fishermans beach is the least touristy of all the beaches in Mornington, meaning much smaller crowds!

It also has a relatively wide and long stretch of sand perfect for beach play. Set up a tent, play a game of beach cricket, construct a sand castle fort, go on, there’s plenty of space!

Given the right weather conditions, the waters are calm and crystal blue allowing you to see right to the bottom of the seabed. You’ll spot little sea fish darting around, and if you’re lucky, the local stingray might swim right past you.

The waters are shallow, particularly at the south end of the beach, and there are literally no waves (unless winds are strong), so it’s a safe beach for swimming and perfect for families with young children.

My daughter has literally swum at this beach since she was born and I’ve never ever felt stressed out by water conditions here.

With the waters being so calm, Fishermans beach is perfect for kayaking or stand-up paddle-boarding.

There’s about a dozen of the iconic Mornington Peninsula bathing boxes still standing here. And the large blue bathing box at the north end of the beach (far left in the image below), is owned and run by a fourth generation fisher family, the Hutchins. The beach box is known as Hutchins Brothers Fish. Pop in say g’day and buy some fresh fish and mussels caught right in the bay probably that very morning!

HOW DO I ACCESS FISHERMANS BEACH?

As you can see in the image above, the Esplande (name of the road) runs along the clifftop.

There is a narrow length of shrubbery running along the Esplanade that offers Fishermans Beach some shelter from the road and traffic. 

Along this shrubbery, there is a dirt walking track which you can follow to safely traverse the entire length of the clifftop beside the road. Along this clifftop track you’ll find a few lookouts and openings that will lead you to the beach.

Accessing the North End of Fishermans Beach

The north end of Fishermans Beach (left in the image above), lies at the base of 20m high cliffs. 

There’s an opening in the roadside shrubbery at this end where two tracks slope down to the sands below. One slopes left and one slopes right.

If you’re standing at the top of the track facing the beach, the track that leads to the left is a paved but rocky track that will lead you directly to the sand and the big blue bathing box known as Hutchins Brothers Fish (as mentioned earlier).

If you look at the panoramic picture of Fishermans Beach not far above, you’ll see this track edged into the cliff, ending at the first blue bathing box.

The track that slopes to the right will lead you to the top of an old seawall, where there’s a toilet block. There’s a cute little stairwell edged into the seawall here that will then take you down to the beach.

Accessing the South End of Fishermans Beach

The cliff that runs along Fishermans beach gets lower as you move south. 

At the very south end, the cliff has completely dissipated so there are no paths to trek down to reach the sands. 

Accessibility of the south end is much easier, hence you’ll find it more crowded, with a lot more families and their children setting up for the day here.

Is there Wheelchair Access?

There is definitely no wheelchair access at the north end of the beach from the clifftop.

The south end is much more accessible to people with physical disabilities as there are no steep tracks.

There are no wheelchair paths onto the beach leading to the water.

IS THERE PARKING AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

There is a designated carpark at the south end of Fishermans Beach, opposite Webb Street. Word of warning though, it’s an extremely small carpark, offering only approximately 10-20 car spots.

There is car parking all along the length of the Esplanade, on both sides of the road, from the south to north entrances of the beach. Do observe the parking signs though, as some of the spots are 1hr parking only, but many you can park at without worrying about time limits.

There are a number of side streets that run off the Esplanade, directly opposite the beach, where you can park your car too. The street names, running north to south are Williams Road, View Street, Hargreaves Street, Webb Street and King Georges Avenue.

IS FISHERMANS BEACH PATROLLED?

There is no surf life saving club at Fishermans beach and the beach is never patrolled.

Don’t let this deter you though, as the beach is in Port Phillip Bay and there are no rips nor waves, unless there’s extreme weather conditions.

Fishermans beach is very safe for swimming and for families despite there being no patrols.

ARE THERE TOILETS AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

Yes!

There are two toilet blocks at Fishies. 

At the north end of the beach (the Brakley Street end near Hutchins Fish Shop) there is a toilet block atop of the sea wall. There are no showers in this block, just toilets.

At the south end of Fishermans Beach there is a toilet block with toilets and one shower in it. It’s nothing glamorous, and there’s no roof over the shower, however I think that adds to its charm.

IS THERE A BOAT RAMP AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

There sure is a boat ramp here. 

The boat ramp is located at the south end of Fishermans Beach, right near Linley Point South. 

You can launch your boat or jet-ski from here and then park your car and trailer in one of the parking bays that adjoin this boat ramp which are specifically reserved for this purpose.

CAN I GET FOOD AND DRINK AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

At the south end of Fishies, on the opposite side of the road (The Esplanade), you will find an iconic Mornington cafe called Lilos.

I actually worked here for a short while when I first moved to the Peninsula.

It’s a quirky cafe full of green antiques! 

They make amazing coffee, serve up hearty breakfasts and lunches and can prepare some food to go if you want to take it to the beach.

IS FISHERMANS BEACH DOG FRIENDLY?

Dogs are permitted on-leash at certain times of the day and year on Fishermans Beach.

In summer months, dogs are permitted on-leash between the hours of 6pm and 10am.

Outside of this, dogs are permitted on-leash at Fishermans Beach at any time of day.

Dogs are supposedly not permitted off-lead at any time of the year on Fishermans Beach, but I do see dogs off lead here a lot, so use your own judgement!

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

There is a great walking track that runs along the clifftop at Fihermans Beach.

You can follow this northwards and it’ll take you about 15 minutes to walk along the Esplanade all the way to Mornington’s Main Street and popular shopping/cafe district.

If walking in this direction, you can chose to stay on the Esplanade’s sidewalk, or keep you eyes peeled for little openings in the fence that lines the clifftops on your left. These openings are like little goat tracks that will take you into the clifftop shrubbery to dirt trails right along the edge of the cliffs. You’ll find some gorgeous, secluded views across Port Phillip Bay on these tracks.

If you follow the track south, you can walk the full 6km to Mount Martha. This is a stunning walk that has you traversing a dirt path along the ocean-side clifftops. There are some gorgeous lookout points along the way and plenty of shops and cafes to reward your efforts when you reach Mount Martha

IS THERE ACCOMMODATION AT FISHERMANS BEACH?

There is plenty of accommodation around Fishermans Beach and in the town of Mornington.

Use the map below to browse a range of different options with price ranges to suit a variety of budgets.

Click on any of the icons on the map to look at the accommodation in more detail and to book.

MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WOULD I RECOMMEND FISHERMANS BEACH?

If you hadn’t already guessed, I would absolutely recommend Fishermans Beach.

Besides surfing or bodyboarding, every single beach activity you’d want to do, can be done here.

Safe swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, jet-skiing, sun baking – Fishermans beach is perfect for all of  this!

Parking isn’t too complicated, there’s toilets and a cafe, so I’d say get your swimmers on and head out for a day of awesomeness at Fishermans Beach!