The Lost Woods Market - 2nd Saturday of the Month
A ticketed makers market in the grounds of a Puffing Billy station, with no on-site parking and free shuttle buses running in from the secondary college.
About this market
Most markets treat parking as an afterthought. The Lost Woods Market, founded by Jacqui and Emily, treats it as the central logistical problem and solves it by removing it: there is no parking at the market at all. Instead a free shuttle bus loops between Emerald Secondary College and the gates from 9am to 1pm on the second Saturday of each month, and the market takes over the grounds of Puffing Billy Park at Emerald Station without a car park anywhere in sight.
Free entry, but you still need a ticket
The other unusual decision is ticketing. Entry costs nothing, but every visitor including children needs a free ticket, released on the market's website at 9am on the Thursday before. It is a crowd-control mechanism rather than a revenue one, and it comes with a sensible local exemption: anyone with a driver's licence showing postcode 3782, 3159, 3781 or 3783 can show it at the gate and walk in. Inside, the makers are hand-picked from across Victoria and the categories run through hot food, arts, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, and bath and body, with a flea market section, live music, face painting and a petting zoo alongside them.
Market at a glance
Trading in a heritage railway park rather than a hall or a reserve is what gives the market its name and its look. Emerald Station is a working Puffing Billy stop, so the backdrop is narrow-gauge track and tall timber rather than bunting over a car park, and the constraints that come with the site are exactly the ones that keep it from feeling like every other monthly market in the hills.
The no-parking rule extends to the shuttle itself: dogs and prams are both barred from the bus. So a family with a pram, or anyone with a dog, has to walk in from one of the outlying car parks, the closest of which is about 750 metres away at Pepi's Land.
Good to know before you go
Set a reminder for Thursday 9am if you are not a local, because tickets are the one thing you cannot sort out on the day. Facilities on site are limited, and the market's own advice is to use the public toilets in Emerald before you arrive rather than counting on finding them at the gate. Wear shoes you do not mind getting muddy: this is parkland in the Dandenong Ranges, and it holds water. If you are bringing a dog or a pram, park at Pepi's Land and walk the 750 metres rather than driving to the college and discovering the bus will not take you.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need a ticket to get in?
- Yes, but they are free. Tickets are released on their website the Thursday before each market at 9am, and everyone including children needs one. Locals with a licence showing postcode 3782, 3159, 3781 or 3783 can simply show it at the gate.
- Where do I park?
- Not at the market. There is no on-site parking. A free shuttle bus runs between Emerald Secondary College and the market from 9am to 1pm, and there is overflow parking at Pepi's Land, Worrell Reserve and Nobelius Heritage Park. Accessible parking is at the RSL next door.
- Can I bring a dog or a pram?
- Friendly dogs are welcome on a lead at the market itself, but dogs cannot travel on the shuttle bus, and neither can prams. Plan your approach accordingly.