Things to see and do on a Snowy Mountain Drive

Whenever I archer radical that Australia has snow-capped mountains, they are shocked! Australia is location to truthful galore divers landscapes, wherefore not adhd snow-topped skis resorts to that list?

The Snowy Mountains, oregon The Snowies arsenic we telephone them successful Aus, are an adventurer lovers paradise.

So beautiful!

They person the highest peaks successful the country, are lined with adventurous trails for hiking, oregon skiing, and adjacent boast immoderate magnificent caves and blistery springs. Needless to say, determination are plentifulness of things to bash successful The Snowy Mountains.

One of the champion ways to research the mountains successful each their magnificence, is connected a Snowy Mountains Drive, starting from Yarrangobilly and finishing successful Jindabyne.

This thrust encumbers each of the sites that marque the Snowy Mountains famous. So erstwhile you’re ready, let’s instrumentality a look astatine the things to bash connected the Snowy Mountains drive…

Where is the Snowy Mountains?

The Snowy Mountains are Australia’s highest upland scope successful Kosciuszko National Park and a fashionable tourer destination NSW.

They are located 49km from Sydney and 151km from Canberra.

What is the champion clip to sojourn Snowy Mountains?

When astir radical program a travel to the Snowy Mountains they are usually heading consecutive to Thredbo oregon Perisher for immoderate skiing enactment successful the winter.

And I don’t blasted them, it’s 1 of the best wintertime vacation destinations successful Australia! While June to September is the cleanable clip to sojourn the Snowy Mountains for skis season, it’s not precisely the champion clip to spell driving. After all, who wants to interest astir getting stuck successful snow?

It’s clip to rethink astir the Snowy Mountains arsenic lone a wintertime holiday; it’s a fantastic destination successful the summertime. From December until February, you’ll beryllium met with wide bluish skies, lukewarm upwind and agleam greenish plants and flora.

It’s the cleanable clip of twelvemonth for a Snowy Mountains thrust oregon getaway.

We loved experiencing this portion during our travel to the Snowies successful October. We recommend spending astatine slightest a week to admit the thrust fully.

Stops connected the Snowy Mountains Drive

Now you cognize a small spot astir erstwhile to sojourn the Snowies, it’s clip to commencement mapping retired the Snowy Mountains Drive itinerary. Below are each the suggested stops and attractions to visit, arsenic good arsenic a database of things to bash connected the Snowy Mountain Drive.

Stop 1: Yarrangobilly Caves

Yarrangobilly River Walk

Yarrangobilly is successful the bluish portion of Mt Kosciusko National Park and is good worthy exploring. It’s astir celebrated for its caves, but it besides offers a quiescent quality retreat with immoderate beauteous stream walks and quality trails to explore..

We highly urge staying the nighttime successful the Yarrangobilly Caves House and exploring the adjacent caves and instrumentality a dip successful the outdoor thermal pools.

From here, you van instrumentality a circuit of the Jersey Cave, the North and South Glory Hole Caves, and walk the casual 3km Yarrangobilly River Walk. If you’re lucky, you mightiness adjacent spot immoderate platypus playing successful the waters here.

Press play to spot the quality of the Yarrangobilly Caves:

The Long Plain Drive

From Yarrangobilly instrumentality a time travel retired to the Long Plain Drive. The Long Plain Drive is only unfastened aft the October Labour Day for the warmer months.

It’s a unsocial Australian thrust that extends for 49.6km and is besides often utilized by cyclists and those towing caravans, truthful beryllium cautious erstwhile you thrust on here.

The thrust takes you up done the mountains, overlooking immense plains and gorges, and is 1 of the champion scenic drives. But don’t conscionable enactment successful the car, halt disconnected to see…

Stop 2: The Wild Brumbies of the Long Plain Drive

Beautiful brumbies

The barren plains of the Long Plain Drive agelong for miles and amongst the tiny rolling hills you are astir guaranteed to spot chaotic brumbies. These are a radical of chaotic horses who roam the plains of the Snowies.

We saw mobs of them on the drive, but they are much disposable successful the unfastened areas.

Stop 3: Check retired the Murrumbidgee River

From small things, large things grow

Make definite you halt to visit the humble beginnings of the Murrumbidgee River, Australia’s 3rd biggest stream and 2nd longest river.

Along the river, you’ll find affluent and divers environments. The stream is not lone utilized arsenic a root of h2o for overmuch of NSW, but it besides feeds into the valleys and creates the lush scenery you spot astir you.

There is lone a tiny motion indicating the river, truthful support your eyes retired for it oregon you mightiness easy thrust past it. It looks similar this…

Stop 4: Coolamine Homestead

Drive a small further on the Long Plain Drive, done tiny pockets of upland ash and smoky gum forests, and visit the Coolamine Homestead. 

Coolamine is simply a practice homestead, and offers a uncommon glimpse into isolated ranch beingness of the aboriginal 1900’s.

Coolamine Homestead

Hop retired of your car and locomotion astir the spot and aged workplace buildings – determine if you deliberation this could person been the beingness for you!

Stop 5: Clarke Gorge walk

Gorgeous gorge

Again, the Snowy Mountains volition astonishment you with its diverseness and beauty. Clarke Gorge is not overmuch further connected from Coolamine Homestead.

It is simply a 2.5km instrumentality locomotion done a constrictive gorge chopped by Cave Creek. Spectacular limestone cliffs and cave formations connected either broadside pb you to Cave Creek Falls.

The scenery is dotted with snowfall gums and achromatic sallee, and vibrant yellowish billy buttons. There are astir six tiny creek crossings connected the walk, making it a amusive escapade the kids volition love.

Alpine Way Drive

On the mode from Kiandra to Khancoban

After exploring the Long Plain Drive, caput backmost to Yarrangobilly, and instrumentality the Snowy Mountains Highway to the Kiandra – Khancoban links road, and thrust done breathtaking upland forests.

This is the opening of the Alpine Way Drive.

You tin spot reminders of Kozzi’s gold-seeking past, arsenic good arsenic dams utilized successful the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.

We stopped astatine Khancoban for luncheon earlier taking a mates of hours to bask the Alpine Way Drive, a spectacular thrust that takes you done gangly upland forests and past snow-capped peaks each the mode to Jindabyne.

Yay- we spot snowfall successful Australia.

It was the archetypal clip we saw snowfall successful Australia and were truthful excited! We stopped disconnected successful Thredbo for 5 nights to bask immoderate summertime clip fun.

Stop 6: Thredbo

Relax successful this beauteous alpine colony and bask each it has to connection successful the warmer months. The colony is champion known for being the gateway to the Snowies skis resorts, and successful the winter, it becomes portion of the Perisher Ski Resort, 1 of the apical skis resorts successful Australia.

The edifice extends are acold arsenic Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Guthega, and Mount Blue Cow, which makes it the largest skis edifice successful the Southern Hemisphere.

But successful the summer, skiers and snowboarders tin swap their skies for bikes and spell upland biking instead.

We urge checking retired the YHA Hostel successful Thredbo arsenic a spot to stay. Since the colony is small, it’s not truthful casual to find accommodation, particularly connected a fund successful specified a fashionable edifice area.

During the wintertime it has skis in/ski-out facilities but successful the summertime it offers motorcycle rentals and has a spot to store your bikes.

Be definite to rotation astir the Thredbo Village Square, drawback a cupful of java and bask the upland views.

Stop 7: Climb Mount Kosciuszko

This was a toughie with the girls and the wind

If the upwind is successful your favour, a ascent to the apical of Australia’s highest highest is precise achievable. Take the Kosciusko explicit chairlift to Eagles Nest and travel the committee locomotion to the rounded peak. It’s a 13km return.

You won’t judge you person reached 1 of the highest summits successful Australia!

Alternatively, you tin locomotion the 4km instrumentality to The Charlotte Pass Lookout. This was arsenic acold arsenic we got with the girls, arsenic the conditions were unfavourable with beardown winds, debased temperatures, and snowfall connected the peaks.

Colourful, wildflowers carpet the country during the summertime time, making it that other spot special.

Loved these views successful the warmth aft our walk

Stop disconnected astatine the Eagles Nest restaurant (Australia’s highest restaurant) for a gourmet blistery cocoa earlier taking the seat assistance backmost down.

Thredbo has large tracks for kids

We urge spending the day bobsledding down the upland and exploring the country by bike. There are plentifulness of upland biking trails (which are slopes successful the winter).

If you are truly adventurous, you tin motorcycle down the mountain. We preferred the gentler rides on the stream done the bush.

We stayed astatine the YHA Thredbo, which is simply a large fund option. You’ve got to emotion the views from the deck.

The cheapest and champion views successful Thredbo

Stop 8: Wildbrumby Schnapps Distillery

Cheers to the Snowy Mountains

Why not toast to the chaotic brumby you conscionable saw connected the agelong plains astatine this fabulous distillery owned by an Austrian couple.

The repast we had astatine the Wild Brumby Schnapps Distillery was amazing-hearty upland nutrient – and included the champion blistery cocoa I deliberation Craig and I person ever had.

The distillery is not lone a large spot to spot upland views, but it besides has a ample assortment of schnapps, which if you’re not acquainted with, is simply a flavored alcoholic tone which is really rather debased successful intoxicant content.

Our sojourn was of course, topped with immoderate schnapps – peppermint for maine and Butterscotch for Craig – the cleanable accompaniment to alpine living.

On the database of flavors to effort are peach, butterscotch, Pink Lady apple, oregon if you’re feeling adventurous, chilli-infused “Devil’s Tongue”. If you don’t similar schnapps, they besides service gin and vodka.

Stop 9: Jindabyne

Kalyra and Barbed Wire

You cognize you privation the Man from Snowy River horse-riding experience. I deliberation it’s successful everyone’s concealed dreams.

There are galore equine riding companies to take from that tin beryllium recovered connected the periphery of the park, adjacent Jindabyne. We took our girl for an day pony ride.

It’s nary wonderment she thought the Snowy Mountains was the champion portion of our travel astir Australia truthful far.

Biking astir Lake Jindabyne, Snowy Mountains

There are besides motorcycle trails astir the water and beauteous views to beryllium recovered arsenic you caput northbound connected the Kosciuszko Rd.

Stunning views to beryllium recovered everyplace you drive

We besides urge the Little Thredbo locomotion that starts astatine the Lake Crackenback.

For a longer locomotion harvester it with the Bullocks Track locomotion to Thredbo Diggings. It snowed portion we were connected this locomotion – specified an breathtaking infinitesimal to stock with the girls.

Here is the infinitesimal we saw snow:

Jindabyne Brewing

After the thrill of driving done the mountains, wherefore not halt for immoderate refreshing trade beers?

Not lone tin you bask immoderate delicious beers from Jindabyne Brewing but you tin besides beryllium retired connected the balcony and bask unthinkable views implicit the mountains.

Stop 10: Dalgety and Snowy Vineyard and Microbrewery

Head implicit to the tiny township of Dalgety for a quiescent countryside escape. Walk astir the municipality and the adjacent windy plains, oregon locomotion on the banks of the Snowy River.

The municipality is celebrated for being surrounded by granite outcrops and grasslands, a akin mounting you mightiness find successful Lord of the Rings.

Be definite to halt by the Snowy Vineyard and Microbrewery for immoderate delicious homecooked nutrient and to bask drinks from their brew garden.

Stop 11: Eucumbene Trout Farm

Stop disconnected to effort you manus astatine trout sportfishing astatine 1 of the champion trout sportfishing holes successful the area. If you’re lucky, you tin adjacent hole your freshly-cooked drawback for lunch.

Stop 12: Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre

While astir of the stops connected this thrust person been quality stops, wherefore not decorativeness disconnected with thing educational?

You tin larn astir renewable vigor and hydro powerfulness astatine the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre. See however for the past 70 years, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme has operated.

There are galore antithetic tours and experiences astatine the Hydro Discovery Centre, truthful beryllium definite to check online to spot what’s happening earlier you go.

Map of The Snowy Mountain Drive

To assistance you navigate your mode on this drive, present is simply a representation of the way to instrumentality and the stops to visit…

Final Thoughts connected The Snowy Mountain Drive

So determination you person it, those are the apical things to bash do successful the Snowy Mountains and the stops you should instrumentality connected the Snowy Mountains scenic drive.

As you tin see, determination is truthful overmuch for to the Snowies than conscionable skiing! We anticipation this usher helped you program your travel and gave you immoderate inspiration for what to bash successful the Snowy Mountains.