Mt Baw Baw Ski Resort

Mt Baw Ski Resort is a small downhill ski area in Victoria. Mount Baw Baw is an ideal spot to go tobogganing or for snow play, or if you’re a first time skier or snowboarder. The Mt Baw Baw ski terrain is mostly mellow and it’s a good place for beginners to progress, although most kids (and coordinated adults) will outgrow the place within a few days and want to progress onto longer and steeper runs.

Pros and Cons of Mt Baw Baw

Pros

• Mt Baw Baw is the closest alpine resort to Melbourne, only 2.5 hours drive away.
• Mount Baw Baw is ideal for novice skiers and snowboarders, and has nice beginner terrain to progress to the intermediate level.
• The toboggan park has dedicated snowmaking and a magic carpet so the kids can save energy for going down the hill, but as you’d expect, you have to pay to use the slope.
• Lift tickets are not as expensive as other Australian ski resorts, but you don’t get the same infrastructure for your money.
• Compared to other Victorian ski resorts, it’s rather straightforward to get from the parking to the slopes and the village.
• Mt Baw Baw Victoria is relatively quiet on weekdays, with the exception of school holidays.
• Baw Baw offers other fun snow activities such as cross country skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding (with wheeled buggies if there is not enough snow), or visiting the two resident dingoes.

Cons

• Baw Baw doesn’t fare well in the snow stakes when it comes to quality or quantity, and it rains more than at the major Victoria ski resorts due to its low elevation.
• It’s a hill not a mountain. It’s a small ski area with short runs and limited variety.
• Mount Baw Baw has no chair lifts, only surface lifts, and the layout of these can result in some major bottlenecks on peak weekends and during school holidays.
• There is negligible terrain on offer for advanced riders for whom it’s Mount Bore Boring. 
• The resort entry fee is expensive and the same price as for Hotham & Falls Creek, yet you only get a small fraction of the value compared to those resorts.
• There is no ski in ski out accommodation at Mt Baw Baw, although there are a few lodgings that are toboggan-in toboggan-out.

Mt Baw Baw Ski and Snowboard Terrain

It doesn’t take long to orient yourself to the Mt Baw Baw ski area because it’s pretty small with only 35 hectares of skiable terrain and 17 runs, most of which are rather short with a maximum of 120 metres of vertical drop. The size of the terrain shrinks considerably when inadequate snow closes some of the runs, although this problem of run closure is not unique when skiing in Australia.

The trail statistics are 25% beginner, 64% intermediate and 11% advanced, although it’s all relative because the blue runs are fine for confident beginners and the black runs are rather intermediate, unless they haven’t been groomed.

Mt Baw Baw has a couple of short mellow runs that are perfect for novices, except that Tank Hill is very crowded on busy days which limits the amount of safe crashing space. From there, the progression is to the Summit run and then onto the blue runs for beautiful graduation.

Off-piste skiing is pretty much non-existent due to a lack of snow cover, but on the odd occasion when there’s a massive cold storm that has dumped plenty of snow, you can play under the old chairlift and hitch a lift back up to the resort.

Mount Baw Baw has a small terrain park that seems to come and go, and a Big Air Bag that only seems to be open occasionally.

The Mt Baw Baw Ski Resort is serviced by a “fleet” of 7 lifts: 3 T-bars; 2 platter lifts; and 2 magic carpets.

Mt Baw Baw Snow

The statistic for the average annual snowfall at Mt Baw Baw is not cited. Like other Australian ski resorts, the usual snow volumes are not high. There is a tiny bit of snowmaking to supplement Mother Nature’s modest offerings. Mt Baw Baw’s main problem when it comes to snow is the rate of melt. The top elevation is only 1,562 metres (200 to 300 metres lower than the major Victoria ski resorts) and the snow is not well maintained, especially when it rains.

Mt Baw Baw often gets good snowfalls out of early season storms that come from the south, whilst storms from the NW that usually bless Mt Hotham and Falls Creek with plenty of snow, have petered out of precipitation by the time the storm reaches Baw Baw.

Where is Mt Baw Baw Resort?

Mt Baw Baw Resort in Victoria Australia is 156km east of Melbourne or 177km via the Princes Highway (the faster route), a drive that equates to about 2.5 hours. Baw Baw is 68km north of Moe in Gippsland, and 49km east of the little town of Noojee. Mount Baw Baw is south of Mt Buller and significantly southwest of Falls Creek and Hotham.

Mt Baw Baw Accommodation

For such a small ski hill, there is a surprising amount of Mt Baw Baw accommodation and the village is rather cute when it’s snow covered. On-mountain accommodation at Mt Baw Baw includes self-contained apartments, ski club lodges and backpacker style accommodation at the Alpine Hotel.

Ski Resort Facilities

The amenities at Mt Baw Baw are mostly rather retro and tired. There are two ski and snowboard hire shops, one which also sells basic groceries. There are a few sit-in dining options plus a skiosk, but these aren’t always open on weekdays.

The ski school specialises in beginner lessons so novices are well catered for, but this probably isn’t the place for intermediates to brush up on their skills.