How to book Lake Catani Campground on Mount Buffalo: summer season, peak-week rules, when sites sell out and how to catch a cancellation when one opens up.
About
Lake Catani Campground sits on the Mount Buffalo plateau in Victoria's High Country, set in snow gum woodland beside the lake it's named after. It's one of the few places in the Victorian Alps where you can drive up, pitch a tent at altitude and spend the day by the lake or out on the plateau.
The campground is 28 km from Porepunkah, and it runs two very different seasons: a booked summer season and a free, ski-in winter season.
The sites
Parks Victoria lists 47 campsites at Lake Catani. Some suit small caravans and campervans, others are for car camping and tents only, and there are walk-in sites too. A separate area is set aside for schools and social groups. Several sites suit visitors with limited mobility, with sites 2, 3, 11 and 12 the most accessible.
Facilities in summer include flush toilets, hot showers, and dishwashing and laundry sinks, plus a separate accessible toilet and shower with its own entrance. A historic stone hut has benches, tables and two shared fireplaces. Bring your own drinking water, as Parks Victoria asks campers to be self-sufficient. Fires are only allowed in the existing campfire structures, and never on Total Fire Ban days (gas cookers are fine).
No dogs, cats or other pets are allowed, and generators, drones, horses and firearms are also off the list.
Seasons:
- Summer: from the beginning of November (Melbourne Cup weekend) to the end of April. Sites must be booked online in advance.
- Winter: from the Friday before the King's Birthday long weekend in June to the end of August. Camping is free and doesn't need a booking, but access is on skis, snowshoes or foot (about 1 km in), the amenities are closed, and only a pit toilet behind the Stone Hut stays open.
- In between: the campground is closed to all camping from 31 August to 30 October 2026, so the 2026–27 summer season starts at the end of October.
How booking works
Summer sites are booked through Parks Victoria's online booking system (bookings.parks.vic.gov.au), which runs on Bookeasy. Full payment is taken when you book, and you can book up to three sites in the same campground per transaction.
Parks Victoria releases bookings four times a year, roughly six to nine months ahead. Releases open at 10am and are staggered over three days: Tidal River first, then roofed accommodation, then every other bookable campground, Lake Catani included. The September 2026 release ran from 28 to 30 September and opened stays through to 30 June 2027. A "Lobby" holding page opens before 10am on release days when big demand is expected.
There's no ballot. Peak season is handled through the normal quarterly release.
Peak rules for summer 2026–27: between Saturday 26 December 2026 and Saturday 9 January 2027, stays are a 7-night minimum and 14-night maximum, arriving and leaving on a Saturday. Check the Parks Victoria ballots and peak season page before you book, because these rules change each year.
When it sells out
The Christmas to early January block is the hardest to get, and the Saturday-to-Saturday rule means each booking ties up a site for at least a week. Long weekends and school holidays across the rest of summer also fill fast. The window is short, too: the summer season only runs from November to April, so the number of bookable nights is limited.
Midweek nights outside the school holidays are usually your best bet if you're flexible.
How to get a cancellation
People's plans change, and Parks Victoria's refund rules give them a reason to cancel early. Cancel 30 or more days before the first night and you get a full refund. Cancel 8 to 29 days out and you get 50% back. Inside 8 days there's no refund. That means you'll often see sites come back a month or more before the date, and then again in the last few weeks, as people decide to take the 50% rather than lose the lot.
Checking the booking site by hand works if you're patient, but cancelled sites tend to be snapped up quickly. Watch Lake Catani on Aussie Camp Alerts and we'll email you when a sold-out night frees up. The free plan covers one live watch, with alerts sent 15 minutes after we spot the opening. If you're chasing several dates or campgrounds, the Summer pass (A$29 once, 12 months) gives you up to 10 watches and instant alerts by email, Telegram or web push.
When an alert lands, go straight to the booking site. Have your account logged in and vehicle details ready, and remember the peak-week minimum stay still applies to whatever you book.
Getting there
From Porepunkah, near Bright, take Mount Buffalo Road up onto the plateau, then turn onto the gravel track at the junction. The track is fine for 2WD vehicles. You can park close to your tent, though there are no designated disabled parking bays. Speed limits apply on the plateau roads.
In winter, the access road is closed from the Thursday after King's Birthday until mid-September (longer if snow is still on the track), which is why winter camping is walk-in or ski-in only.
Nearby alternatives
If Lake Catani is booked out, other alpine campgrounds are worth a look. Over the border in Kosciuszko National Park, Thredbo Diggings and Ngarigo sit along the Thredbo River and make a good base for summer walking in the Snowy Mountains. If you'd swap the mountains for the coast, Tidal River at Wilsons Promontory is Victoria's best-known campground, though it's just as competitive in summer.