THE ALPINE TOWN

The town of Wangaratta is located at the confluence of the Ovens and King Rivers, and is the gateway to the Great Alpine Road and the High Country snowfields. Skiers and snowboarders flock to Mt Buller, Mt Hotham, and Falls Creek looking for the best snowfall.  The season officially begins - with or without snow - on the Queen’s Birthday in June and ends in mid-September, there are still plenty of activities to do in the High Country in summer, when skiing and snowboarding give way to horseback riding, canoeing, and mountain biking. If you’re not into hiking way up in the mountains, can we suggest the Murray to Mountains Bike Trail, a trail that was rehabilitated from abandoned railway lines. Or there’s the Wangaratta Cemetery, home to bushranger Dan ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan. Definitely use Wangaratta as a base as tours outbound, because there’s no place more centrally located than this modern town.

MOUNTAIN ACTIVITIES

The Great Dividing Range curls around Australia’s eastern coast, and is often considered the spine of the country. It is in the range in Victoria where skiing and snowboarding are most popular. Winter sport enthusiasts frock from all over the state and Australia to the mountains, all of which have great ski infrastructure as part of a large Alpine National Park, which was created in 1989 and includes parts of this state as well as nearby New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Getting to and from the Alpine National Park is easy; V/Line runs trains to the major Alpine towns, and there’s plenty of connecting services from Wangaratta. The ability to camp in the bush is probably not there in the winter, but there are loads of summer activities to do and camping is encouraged in the camping areas off the main roads. In the summer, there’s a big wine and gourmet food industry in the mountains, so head to the regions of Milawa, King Valley, and Beechworth.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

SNOW TOURS

In the winter months, go on a snow adventure to Mt Buller, one of the best places to ski or snowboard. Most will get you up to the mountain and back down to where you’re staying in one day, but there are one or two tours that will place you in a hostel for the night.

To find all of the snow adventure tours to Mt Buller, check the widget to the left, selecting “Mt Buller” as the Destination after “Victoria” as the state.

BIKE TOURS

In the summer months, the area becomes a great place to go for a mountain-biking adventure. The company, as well as a return trip to Melbourne when you’re done, provides accommodations at Beechworth and Bright.

Escape the City Melbourne’s Beechworth to Bright by Bike Tour.

SOMEWHERE TO STAY

Wangaratta is a great place to stay for those that want to stay in the mountains for an extended period of time. There are a few places to stay inside the city, and all of them offer a great amount of outdoor amentities.

VICTORIA

Melbourne | Mornington Peninsula | Phillip Island

Yarra Valley | Great Ocean Road | Bendigo

 Wangaratta