Booking Banksia Bluff at Cape Conran: dog-friendly loops, summer minimum stays, when it sells out and how to get alerted when a cancellation frees a site.
About
Banksia Bluff is the main bookable campground in Cape Conran Coastal Park, on the East Gippsland coast between Marlo and the NSW border. You camp among gum and banksia woodland, close enough to the beach to hear the surf, with Yeerung Gorge nearby to explore. It's a classic family summer holiday campground, which is exactly why it books out.
Heads up for 2026: Banksia Bluff is temporarily closed while water, wastewater and septic works are finished. Parks Victoria expects it to reopen before summer 2026–27. Check the campground page for the latest before you travel.
The sites
All sites are unpowered, and generators aren't allowed. The campground is split into loops, and dogs are welcome on a lead in loops C, D, E and F (sites 68 to 135). The other loops are dog-free, so pick carefully when you book. Parks Victoria publishes a campground map and campsite selection guide to help you work out which site suits your setup.
Facilities include flushing toilets (with accessible toilets in loops C and F) and outdoor cold showers. The bore water on tap isn't safe to drink, so bring your own drinking and cooking water. Campfires are allowed on select sites in the fire ring provided, never left unattended and never on Total Fire Ban days. You can't collect firewood or use a chainsaw in the park, but the Banksia Bluff office sells firewood, ice and gas.
Most sites are on compacted sand and grass with uneven, sloping ground and unformed paths. Beach access is by sloped paths and stairs, except from loop F, which has no stairs.
If you bring a dog, check it for ticks every day. Paralysis ticks are found along the East Gippsland coast.
How booking works
Sites are booked through Parks Victoria's online booking system (bookings.parks.vic.gov.au), which runs on Bookeasy. You pay in full when you book, and you can book up to three sites in the same campground per transaction.
Bookings are released four times a year, roughly six to nine months in advance. Each release opens at 10am and is staggered over three days: Tidal River on day one, roofed accommodation on day two, and all other bookable campgrounds, Banksia Bluff included, on day three. The September 2026 release ran from 28 to 30 September and opened stays through to 30 June 2027. On busy release days a "Lobby" holding page opens before 10am.
There's no ballot. Peak periods are handled through the quarterly releases, with minimum stays on the busiest dates. For 2026–27, Parks Victoria lists:
- Summer peak: 7-night minimum and 14-night maximum between Saturday 19 December 2026 and Saturday 23 January 2027, arriving and leaving on a Saturday.
- Labour Day weekend: 3-night minimum, Friday arrival.
- Easter: 4-night minimum, Thursday arrival.
- Melbourne Cup 2027: 4-night minimum, Friday arrival.
These rules change from year to year, so check the ballots and peak season page before you lock in dates.
When it sells out
The summer peak block, from the week before Christmas through to late January, is the big one. Every booking in that window runs at least a week, so far fewer separate bookings fit than in an ordinary month. Easter, Labour Day and the Melbourne Cup weekend come next. The dog-friendly loops are worth watching on their own, since there are only a set number of them and they suit a lot of families.
Shoulder-season weekdays are the easiest to get.
How to get a cancellation
Sites do come back. Parks Victoria gives a full refund if you cancel 30 or more days before your first night, 50% at 8 to 29 days, and nothing inside 8 days. So expect a burst of cancellations about a month out, and a trickle closer to the date as people take the half refund.
Rather than refreshing the booking site, watch Banksia Bluff on Aussie Camp Alerts. When a sold-out night opens up we'll email you. The free plan gives you one live watch, with alerts 15 minutes after we see the opening. If you're juggling a few date ranges or campgrounds, the Summer pass (A$29 once, 12 months) covers up to 10 watches with instant alerts by email, Telegram or web push.
Be ready to move when the alert arrives: logged in, rego handy, and with the peak minimum stay in mind.
Getting there
Cape Conran Coastal Park is about 420 km east of Melbourne and 530 km south of Sydney. Coming from the west, leave the Princes Highway at the Orbost exit and follow the signs through Marlo. From the east, turn off the Princes Highway at Cabbage Tree Creek Road.
Marlo, 17 km away, has fuel and basic supplies. Orbost, 34 km away, has a supermarket, chemist, and medical and vet services. The park closes on Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating days, so check the VicEmergency app before you head off.
Nearby alternatives
Further east along the coast, Thurra River in Croajingolong National Park is a quieter East Gippsland option near Point Hicks. Over the border in NSW, Depot Beach offers a similar bush-meets-beach camp. If you're coming from Melbourne and don't mind going west instead, Tidal River at Wilsons Promontory is the state's most famous coastal campground.