The 2026 East Gippsland Winter Festival has drawn strong crowds to the region, with locals, interstate travellers and Melbourne visitors alike braving the crisp conditions to embrace the seasonal celebrations.
Among the local operators driving the festival’s success, Echo Bend Camping Park hosted a diverse array of events, combining its own unique activities with successful collaborative partnerships with neighbouring businesses to showcase the best of the High Country.
While exceptionally mild weather initially delivered conditions reminiscent of summer days, frosty early mornings and chilly evenings provided a welcome reminder that the winter season was well and truly underway.
To spark the festive spirit, the popular lantern-making workshops returned to Echo Bend, drawing creative participants of all ages.
The activity proved a massive hit for families staying at the park to explore the adjacent Mitchell River National Park, ensuring they had their custom-made lanterns ready for the various community lantern parades held across the region.
Echo Bend also served as a primary accommodation hub for the popular High Country Hooch Scottish Festival. Campers were able to immerse themselves in the pristine bush setting before utilising a dedicated bus service, which provided safe, stress-free transport to and from the festival.
The convenience prompted the majority of campers to extend their stays, allowing them to rest up the morning after the lively festivities.
Beyond the campsite, festival-goers traveling through Bairnsdale were treated to a mini-market and Mitchell River Valley display at the Lindenow Hall carpark.
The market successfully showcased the region’s famous food bowl, with visitors purchasing local crafts, home-made goodies and premium local produce from the Shaylalake Angus stall.
Sports fans were also catered for, with a contingent of dedicated Socceroos supporters heading down to the Farmers Hotel in Lindenow to set up camp in front of the screens, enjoying the matches alongside top-tier pub meals and drinks.
The weekend’s packed itinerary wrapped up on Sunday with a winter women’s white-water rafting day hosted by Canoe Plus.
While the river was initially running low due to an unseasonably dry start to the winter, it held just enough water to deliver a fantastic experience for the paddlers.
As the school holidays officially rolled in, the creative activities ramped up at Echo Bend.
Alongside continued lantern making, stone-decorating workshops were heavily supported by visiting children.
The completed stones were kept by the kids to place in their home gardens – a permanent, artistic keepsake of their holiday adventures.
The school holiday period culminated in a dramatic shift in the weather, with a late influx of heavy rain and snow across the catchment.
The timely downpour supercharged the river system, allowing the final group of winter canoeists to experience a thrilling, high-water run down the Mitchell River to close out the winter festivities.
With so much on offer across the region, local organisers are encouraging residents and visitors to continue getting out and about, supporting local businesses and embracing the magic of an East Gippsland winter.
