The Top Ski Resorts In Australia - Australian Traveller

Little known fact: Australia has more mountains covered in snow than Switzerland and our biggest ski resort is over twice the size of New Zealand’s largest. And nowhere else can you ski between gum trees and among kangaroos. So, what more motivation do you need to strap on some skis and hit our home-grown slopes?

With some incredible snowfields across New South Wales and Victoria, it’s time to gather the gear and head to the slopes. Take your pick out of these ski resorts in Australia and get planning.

1. Thredbo

Why Thredbo?

Thredbo looks more like a European-style ski village than a purpose-designed ski resort; homesick Austrians designed it (in the ’60s) to look like the Tyrol region they left behind. Most bars and restaurants offer stunning views over the slopes, all accommodation is a short walk to the lifts (some hotels are ski-in/ski-out) and the skiing is some of Australia’s best.

Who it suits

There’s more to do off-piste at Thredbo than at any other ski resort in Australia, so most will love this place. Thredbo Village has a large variety of cafes, restaurants and retail stores, as well as an art walk featuring more than 30 sculptures and paintings.

Thredbo in NSW — Thredbo is the place to be this winter. (Image: Destination NSW)

Skiing kudos

Thredbo has the highest vertical drop of any Australian resort, and its longest run (the Supertrail). But it also suits total beginners; Friday Flat is one of Australia’s best beginner areas.

Apres and off-piste action

Ski down to the Alpine Bar at Thredbo Alpine Hotel for a taste of Chamonix-style après, with DJs playing from 2 pm to 6 pm as skiers hit the heated pool. Or try Australia’s best alpine cocktails at the Après Bar of the Denman Hotel; its restaurant, The Terrace, is regarded as one of the best restaurants in NSW’s southern region. For families, there’s also a flare run and fireworks display every Saturday night.

Stay at

You’ll find some of Australia’s most luxurious on-snow accommodation in Thredbo, like Ski In Ski Out , Thredbo’s only five-star ski-in, ski-out accommodation, or River Inn , where you can ski right to the chairlift.

Cedar Cabin The Eastern Thredbo — Spend a dreamy winter afternoon sequestered at Thredbo Village’s Cedar Cabin (Credit: Monique Eastern)

Secret gem

Take a snowcat to the Kareela Hutte restaurant on top of the mountain for a five-course meal with matching local wines.

2. Falls Creek

Why Falls Creek?

Falls Creek is the quintessential Aussie snow village, one of the world’s more unique. It is pedestrian-only, so you can walk or ski around the village right up to ski runs, après bars and restaurants.

Drone shot of Falls Creek at sunrise — All the Falls Creek accommodation, dining, day spas and on-piste activities are ski-in/ski-out. (Image: Jezzalanko Creative)

Who it suits

With its small, safe village atmosphere and a high number of beginner runs, Falls Creek was traditionally marketed as Australia’s ultimate family ski resort. But in recent years the development of luxury hotels, bars and restaurants has seen it take aim at the couples market.

Skiing kudos

Victoria’s largest ski resort is also one of the best spots in Australia for cross-country skiing, with 70 kilometres of trails.

Apres and off-piste action

Where Falls Creek’s dining and bar options were once more down-homey, now they’re downright sexy. For drinks, try Apartment 3 or Astra Bar & Restaurant, with culinary treats from award-winning French chef Janis Mallet. QT Falls Creek’s Stingray bar has its characteristic retro style, while its Bazaar restaurant brings some chic to town, with guests encouraged to ‘dress to impress’.

Stay at

Astra Falls Creek designed its rooms with a European flavour, but it’s the day spa that really impresses. QT Falls Creek is also a super-stylish option.

Astra Falls Creek at night — Stay at Astra Falls Creek to be really impressed. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Secret gem

The ’60s-era Feathertop Alpine Lodge offers the best happy hour at Falls Creek; enjoy Coffin Bay oysters with a glass of Veuve and stunning alpine views.

3. Mt Hotham

Why Mt Hotham?

Mt Hotham is an Australian resort with terrain as challenging as the US or Europe.

Skiers heading down slopes at Mount Hotham in Victoria — Mount Hotham promises visitors incredible panoramic views.

Who it suits

Experts, granted (this is the mountain to come to on a powder day), but there’s a lot at Mt Hotham to suit even the rawest novice. You can also try snow-shoeing or take a sunset tour by Snowcat.

Skiing kudos

Mt Hotham is a magnet for advanced skiers because of its side and backcountry options. There’s a designated Extreme Zone just beyond the lifts, where a free snowcat vehicle will take you to an area featuring gullies, steep cliffs and tree skiing. As for beginners, they get to learn at the top of the mountain (every other ski area uses the bottom of the slopes).

Aerial shot of Craig Parry Village in Mt Hotham — Mt Hotham is a magnet for advanced skiers because of its side and backcountry options. (Image: Victoria High Country)

Apres and off-piste action

Dinner Plain is Mt Hotham’s own specially built alpine village 15 minutes from the slopes. Here you’ll find Stonesthrow Restaurant at Hotel High Plains, with its open fire and windows looking out across the snow; visit after soaking at the Japanese-inspired Onsen Retreat + Spa a few doors up. There’s also fine dining looking across the slopes at Jack Frost Restaurant.

Dinner Plain accommodation in Mt Hotham — Dinner Plain is Mt Hotham’s own specially built alpine village 15 minutes from the slopes. (Image: Julian Kingma)

Stay at

Sleep in a four-storey chalet at Nolyski , with its own sauna, then ski down to fresh snow.

Secret gem

Head to Alpine Nature Experience , Australia’s only igloo village, to camp amid snow gums in a snow dome.

snow dome at alpine nature experiences in mt hotham — Head to Alpine Nature Experience to camp amid snow gums in a snow dome. (Image: Kate Hanton)

4. Mt Buller

Why Mt Buller?

You can be on a chairlift in three hours from Melbourne’s CBD.

Who it suits

Everyone. Some 65 per cent of Mt Buller is designated as a beginner or intermediate terrain, while the remaining 35 per cent includes some of the most challenging terrain in Australasia. With its wide range of activities and après-ski options, it’s also ideal for those who don’t want to ski all day.

Kids skiing in Mt Buller — 65 per cent of Mt Buller is designated as a beginner or intermediate terrain. (Image: Andrew Railton)

Skiing kudos

Beginner area Bourke Street runs alongside some of Mt Buller’s best cafes, restaurants and bars, offering a non-stop action reel of spills and thrills. Experts meanwhile have an endless range of tree runs just beyond the groomed slopes.

Apres and off-piste action

Aside from Thredbo, no ski resort in Australia offers the night-time attractions of Mt Buller, with bars and restaurants for every kind of skier: from ski-in, ski-out après bars like the Arlberg Bar, to the best Austrian drinking establishment outside of Europe, Kaptans Restaurant and Herbies Bar, where you can enjoy schnapps and schnitzels beside a log fire. There are plenty of off-piste activities on hand too, from sled dog and snow-shoeing tours to sculpture park walks.

Slopes at Mt Buller — Mt Buller has great night-time attractions. (Image: Andrew Railton)

Stay at

Ski straight to the chairlift from the luxurious Breathtaker Hotel and Spa , which is also home to an award-winning day spa. Chalet 5 is one of Australia’s newest luxury ski-in, ski-out options, part of the new Whitehorse Village.

Secret gem

Mt Buller’s best coffee can be found on a sundeck at Koflers Hutte, right up on the mountain.

Mt Buller sunset — There are plenty of off-piste activities at Mt Buller as well. (Image: Andrew Railton)

5. Perisher

Why Perisher?

Perisher is Australia’s answer to the super-resorts of North America and Europe, an amalgamation of four ski villages that covers 1245 hectares and is serviced by Australia’s only underground alpine railway. This means you can easily stay in the nearby ski town Jindabyne for a bigger choice of restaurants, bars and activities.

Who it suits

Eighty per cent of the mountain at Perisher is designed for beginners and intermediates making it the ideal place for a family ski holiday. It’s not as steep as any of the other major resorts, but you’ll find the southern hemisphere’s best terrain park for experts.

Chair lift at Blue Cow Perisher in New South Wales — Perisher is the largest ski resort in the entire Southern Hemisphere. (Image: Destination NSW)

Skiing kudos

You can ski an entire weekend without doing the same run twice, across four distinct ski areas: Guthega, Blue Cow, Perisher Valley and Smiggin Holes.

Apres and off-piste action

Perisher doesn’t have the same village amenities as its neighbour Thredbo, but what’s here is intimate and cosy. Chill in front of a fire at Marritz Hotel’s Rams Head Bar or Marritz Restaurant or meet locals at the Pub Bar in The Man From Snowy River Hotel. If staying in Jindabyne, stop along the way for a locally distilled schnapps at Wildbrumby Distillery or a craft beer with tapas at Jindabyne Brewing. Brumby Bar & Grill offers the best dinner option in town.

Stay at

Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa offers two on-site restaurants and a day spa, or stay beside the lifts at Barrakee Ski Lodge .

Secret gem

You’ll find 100 kilometres of cross-country skiing at nearby Alpine National Park; try snow-shoeing with Wilderness Sports.

Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

“Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.

Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten , the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.

heritage buildings in Ballarat — Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)

Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.

Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.

Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)

For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.

You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery , a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.

How Ballarat is preserving the past

artisans making crafts at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.

While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades .

The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.

artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.

A city steeped in food and flavours

Chef José Fernandez preparing American streetfood at Pancho — Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho , José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.

The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.

a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits, Ballarat — Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits . At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.

the Itinerant Spirits Distillery & Cocktail Bar, Ballarat — The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.

The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

one of the rooms at Hotel Vera, Ballarat — The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.

Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.

Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.

Staying there

Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial , which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.

a contemporary room at Hotel Provincial, Ballarat — Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.

Eating there

dining at Mr Jones, Ballarat — The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)

Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.

Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.

dining at Grainery Lane, Ballarat — Dining at Grainery Lane.

Playing there

a laneway filled with artworks in Ballarat — An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Check out local design legend Travis Price’s wall murals in Hop Lane with its colourful canopy of brollies, or in Main Street. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s off-site Backspace Gallery showcases early-career artists in a stylish, contemporary space. First Nations-owned and run Perridak Arts connects people to place, bringing together art and crafts in this gallery/shop.

a woman admiring artworks at Perridak Arts Gallery — Perridak Arts is a First Nations-run gallery. (Image: Tony Evans)

The wineries of the Pyrenees are close at hand with their welcoming cellar doors and robust reds. Join a behind-the-scenes tour at the Centre for Gold Rush Collections .

Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle , ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.

1. Thredbo

Why Thredbo?

Who it suits

Skiing kudos

Apres and off-piste action

Stay at

Secret gem

2. Falls Creek

Why Falls Creek?

Who it suits

Skiing kudos

Apres and off-piste action

Stay at

Secret gem

3. Mt Hotham

Why Mt Hotham?

Who it suits

Skiing kudos

Apres and off-piste action

Stay at

Secret gem

4. Mt Buller

Why Mt Buller?

Who it suits

Skiing kudos

Apres and off-piste action

Stay at

Secret gem

5. Perisher

Why Perisher?

Who it suits

Skiing kudos

Apres and off-piste action

Stay at

Secret gem

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Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

How Ballarat is preserving the past

A city steeped in food and flavours

The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

Staying there

Eating there

Playing there