Lakes Entrance

Overview

A popular holiday spot for over 100 years, Lakes Entrance has an easy seaside charm.
 
Lakes Entrance is the definitive, rather nostalgic, if a little kitsch, holiday resort - peppered with caravans, caravan parks, rent-a-boats, pedalo's and jetties. The town is now upwardly mobile, but it does retain some of that retro charm.

The main thoroughfare - the Esplanade - runs along the shoreline of the Cunninghame Arm inlet, with marinas and  foreshore gardens on one side, and shops, restaurants and accommodation options on the other side. The iconic wooden footbridge, which crosses Cunninghame Arm, links the town centre with the sand dunes and windswept coastline of Bass Strait.

History

The original Aboriginal inhabitants of the area were of the Kurnai people. The Krauatungalung clan had two divisions - the Wurnungatti in the Lake Tyers area and the Brt-Hrita around Jemmy Point. Aboriginal legends about the formation of the lakes centre on a frog that once swallowed all of the world's water.

Angus McMillan was the first European to investigate the area, arriving at Lake Victoria in 1840. John Reeves charted the lakes in 1843 and cattle runs were established soon after.

As a result of this growth, boatbuilding soon became an industry in the area and agitation began for the construction of a more stable and permanent, man-made entrance to the lakes. Work began on this project in 1869.

Places of interest

Iconic Footbridge
Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park
Ninety Mile Beach
Colquhoun State Forest
Lake Tyers
Stoney Creek Trestle Bridge
Lind State Park
Lake Tyers State Park

Accommodation

Lake Entrance is a town which swells in population from 7,000 to 50,000 over the peak holiday season. There is a vast assortment of accommodation on offer from budget to four star resort style, backpackers, bunk houses, Caravan parks, motels, hotels, holiday rental homes and self contained apartments.

Contact East Gippsland Visitor Information Centre
Telephone: 1800 637 060 or International: +61 (3) 5155 1966
Website: www.discovereastgippsland.com.au
Email: lakesvic@egipps.vic.gov.au

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