SKI > Falls Creek Ski Resort

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About

Falls Creek is Victoria’s largest resort with 450 hectares of skiable terrain, the village sits at the bottom of the valley and the lifts take you and over to the other side. Falls is a town with a strong community, family friendly with lots of cruisy trails, it also boasts more than 25 restaurants and 7 bars including the legendary ‘The Man Hotel‘ and the ‘Frying Pan‘ which both rock on til late.

Skiing at Falls Creek ranges from the large area dedicated to beginners at Drovers Dream and the long and wandering Wombats Ramble trail (the longest green run in Australia).

For Intermediate Skiers there is plenty of terrain to explore under the Towers and Lakeside Lifts and right around to Scotts Chair and Ruined Castle Chair. Its not that steep with much of this area blue intermediate runs that is often well groomed.

For the experts ‘The Maze’ area which is on the left hand side of the International Poma (as you look down the hill) brings a number of narrow and more challenging trails. If you are looking for steep and deep you need to hike out with a guide to Mount McKay where there is some accessible back country (but only go with a guide and a ride to get home).

Getting There

Falls is 387 km North East of Melbourne if you are travelling by car that will take you between 4.5 and 5 hours to drive up. The most common approach is up via the Hume highway to Wangaratta and then through the King and Ovens Valleys up to Mt Beauty.

As with all ski resorts in Victoria you must carry snow chains for your car tyres anytime you visit, they can be rented at various locations on the road up.

There are also bus services that run up to Falls Creek from Melbourne.

Because the Falls Creek village is in the snow, it is likely that your accomodation will be some distance from the carpark and so there is a Oversnow Transport Service that will take you and your luggage up to your accomodation (you will need to buy your tickets when you arrive).

What is it like to ski?

Falls Creek can be a wonderfully rewarding resort to ski, on a bluebird day laps of the Summit chair down ‘Exhibition’, ‘The Slot’ or ‘South Gully’ are exhilarating and rarely come with long lift queues. Over on the Ruined Castle Chair the runs out towards the Rocky Knolls are often places to find a powder stash and ‘Father Fosters’ down the right side is super zippy as is the ‘Race Course’ under Scotts Chair.

When the weather closes in ‘Shadow Ridge’ is often protected and ‘The Ys’ are a great run back to the village bowl (just as long as its not icy).

Village Facilities

The village has a couple of distinct zones, there is at the area around the Village Bowl and the area around Slalom Plaza. Each has a lift over the mountain and so it’s unsurprising that you will find shops and restaurants in both locations. Slalom Plaza (which is at the base of Halley’s Comet) has restaurants, bars, cafés and fast food. There is also ski hire, a supermarket, post office, retail shops and a nearby information centre.

Falls Creeks also has a medical centre, child care facilities and a community gym. The Ski school operates at the top of the mountain outside ‘Cloud 9’ cafe and restaurant.

Falls Creek is a hilly village you will definitely get some exercise if you choose to walk around in the snow between the many bars and restaurants (as many people do). Some choose to finish their last run on the opposite side of the village and hop the bars back to their accomodation.

For those who like a little retail therapy there are a number of shops across the mountain.

Where to Stay

For luxury accomodation it is very hard to go past Astra, there is a very good reason why Astra has won Australia’s Best Boutique Ski Hotel for the last seven consecutive years (they will also pick you up from the Oversnow centre with your luggage when you arrive. Read our full review of Astra Lodge here. Diana is a great option for families and has lovely accomodation with great views. In the morning it is an easy ski straight down the trail and on to the lift!

Where to Eat

Favourites include the award winning Astra, Huski Kitchen and Summit Ridge which are all brilliant. If you want a cocktail Apartment 3 or Astra are great places to start or to end a night with a cocktail a wine or a beer.

For those more in the mood to party The Man is known not just for its nightclub but also for its pizza and it is hard to go past a burger from the Frying Pan Inn.