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’.

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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)

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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.

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat, now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate, whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor, who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will, who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods. “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield, embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House.

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument, which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds.

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens, hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

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

AI Prompt

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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Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

Come for the wine, stay for the food

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Eating there

Drinking there

Playing there