Snowfields & High Country Victoria travel destination

TAKE TO THE HILLS

You don’t need to be a snow-junkie to make the most of North East Victoria’s High Country/Snowfields – it’s a first-class year-round holiday destination.

There is a magic about winter, certainly, when all seven Victorian alpine resorts are operating at full capacity and friendships are being kindled on the slopes by day and in restaurants, pubs, clubs and lodges by night.

Take a few days and travel the Great Alpine Road, which connects the waterways of the Gippsland Lakes with the High Country. The 308 kilometres follow a route through much of Australia’s finest country, so give yourself enough time, as the temptation to stop and explore will be fierce.

The resorts at Mount Bulla, Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and their surrounding towns and villages provide top-class accommodation which can be found on the accommodation Snowfields Victoria page of this site.

There’s much more to the Snowfields experience than downhill skiing, with snow bikes, snow-tubing, helicopter flights, tobogganing, cross-country skiing, spa treatments and wining and dining – just some of the reasons visitors return year after year.

The ski resorts are generally very child friendly, with Falls Creek currently developing its “Fox Trail” – a snow kingdom especially for the three to 14 age group, where the range of snowfield activities continues to expand. The resorts also offer child minding to give mums and dads the chance to cut loose on the slopes.

The Snowfields might get most of the headlines, yes, but the High Country has much to offer outside the ski season in the way of outdoor activities. These include mountain climbing, 4WD adventures, horse riding and mountain biking. The Alpine National Park is Victoria’s largest national park and has comprehensive trails leading to the top of the state’s highest mountains, affording sweeping views of the High Country. October is a good time to catch the carpeting of spring flowers in all their glory. The pioneering history of the area can be discovered in the cattlemen’s huts and various other reminders of the days of early settlement.

The towns of the region – Bright, Rutherglen, Mansfield, Mount Beauty and Beechworth – all offer a wide range of options for visitors to make the most of their stay in the High Country. Some of Australia’s best cool-climate wines can be quaffed in these parts, and there’s a calendar of events celebrating heritage, outdoor activities, music, food and wine. The proprietors of your guesthouse or B&B will be pleased to assist with making the most of your stay.

Myrtleford salutes its Italian settlers with the Allegro Festival in spring, and its primary producers with the Tobacco, Hops & Timber Festival. Bright puts on a spectacular display with its autumn and spring festivals, as well as an art and photography exhibition. There’s a bluegrass music festival in Harrietville and the Nut Festival in Wandiligong.

The evidence of the gold rushes of the mid 19th century are everywhere in the High Country, with Beechworth an excellent example of fine Victorian architecture. Magnificent tree-lined streets, cafes, restaurants and galleries all attest to the past and present prosperity of the area.

If rock climbing and abseiling in the gorge at Mount Buffalo National Park doesn’t appeal, how about a tandem hang-gliding adventure or a cycle through the countryside to lunch at a wine estate?

Anyone with half an eye for Australian history won’t let a High Country visit go past without a visit to Glen Rowan, where Australia’s most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly, was captured in June 1880. A giant statue of Kelly dominates the town and there are historical markers throughout the town commemorating his life and times, including the site of his shootout with his Victorian Police pursuers. Wearing his famous armour plating, Kelly took 19 bullets before collapsing – the stuff of legends!
Get out there and discover Victoria’s High Country / Snowfields for yourself.