Melbourne's nearest downhill skiing, about 2.5 hours east, where every lift is a surface tow. You hire on the road you drive up, either past Noojee's 1925 pub and three chain stops, or through Erica with the widest range of gear off the mountain and the turn-off to free snow at Mt St Gwinear.
Where should you hire for a day at Mt Baw Baw?
On the road you're driving up. Through Erica, Erica Ski Hire charges $45 for adult skis, boots and poles, the least of the four, fits you in store and hires the diamond chains you have to carry. Through Noojee you can get a board and chains at Noojee Bush Goods but not skis, so skiers hire in the village, where Mt Baw Baw Ski Hire charges $55 and the resort's Village Store $67 with a helmet. Get chains before the gate, because the resort's chain bay can't be booked and runs out of sizes.
Village, Erica and Noojee
Two counters in the village, a big family shop in Erica on the South Face side, and a Noojee tackle shop that hires boards and chains in winter. The resort's Village Store is the only one that takes hire bookings online; Erica books chains online in season and fits everything else when you walk in.
One-day hire: skis, boots, poles
AUD, adult. The Village Store's package includes a helmet. Noojee Bush Goods hires boards but not skis, so it has no bar.
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mt Baw Baw Ski Hire
26 Currawong Road, run by Franz Reiter's family for 40-plus years
|
$55 | $60 | Alpine and cross-country skis, soft-boot snowboards, clothing, toboggans, snowshoes, helmets | Ring ahead or walk in |
Mt Baw Baw Rentals and Village Store
Run by the resort, in the village
|
$67 with helmet | $67 with helmet | Ski and snowboard packages, clothing, walking boots, toboggans, infant suits | Book online → |
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Erica Ski Hire
5 Main Road, Erica, with EV chargers
Lowest published price
|
$45 | $55 | Downhill and cross-country skis, snowboards, chains, Yowie snowshoes, clothing, onesies, helmets, toboggans | Chains online, gear fitted in store |
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Noojee Bush Goods
11 Henty Street, a trout tackle shop that adds snow gear in winter
|
No skis | $55 with boots | Snowboards, chains, jumpsuits, clothing and boots, toboggans, helmets | Walk in |
These are the rates from winter 2026, which ended on 23 August. Ring the shop before you count on them for 2027.
Pick a road
The Tourist Road through Noojee is sealed and winding, with chain hire at three stops. The South Face Road through Erica is straighter and wider, then unsealed for the last 25 km, with one big hire shop at the bottom.
From Moe the road runs through Erica to Parkers Corner and on along Thomson Valley Road, where South Face Road climbs to the resort. Mt St Gwinear Road leaves Thomson Valley Road north of Erica, and the snow at the end of it costs nothing.
From Moe up the South Face side
Mt St Gwinear Road is signposted off Thomson Valley Road, about 45 minutes from Moe or Traralgon. Carry chains on it in the declared season.
About 120 km east of Melbourne and 2.5 hours from the CBD. Every route finishes on the same resort road, with grades up to 20.6%, and staff tell you when to fit chains, 4WDs included.
Daily in winter, leaving Williams Landing at 6am and Federation Square at 6:30, then Fountain Gate, Warragul, Moe and Erica Recreation Reserve, and reaching the resort at 10:15. It heads back down at 2:30pm.
$69 a car per day in 2026 for up to nine people, paid by card at the gate, and it has to cover both the day you arrive and the day you leave. Parking is included. Bus passengers pay $22, or $12 for children 7 to 17. Entry is free outside the declared season. Entry fees →
Carry diamond-pattern chains from June to October from Tanjil Bren or South Face Road. Ladder chains are no longer accepted, Resort Entry checks proof of hire or purchase, and a car without chains is turned away. Motorbikes and trailers can't go up in season. Chain rules →
Park at Resort Entry and ride the shuttle to Car Park 1, from $40 return and free for kids 6 and under, running nonstop from 8am to 4:30pm. Cars left at the gate aren't charged for chains.
Take the Warburton Highway to Yarra Junction and the road through Powelltown to Noojee, about 2 hours from Lilydale. Fill up at Launching Place.
V/Line's Gippsland line stops at Moe and Warragul. From Moe Station, Moe Taxis charges $250 one way to the gate for up to four people, entry not included.
The mountain has no ATM, no fuel and no supermarket. Guest Services sells milk, snacks and basics from 8am to 6pm in winter. Run a diesel on alpine fuel or an additive.
Day cars go to Car Park 1, the highest in the resort. Overnight guests in winter shift theirs to a lower car park.
The village sits at about 1460 m and the summit at 1564 m, with 35 hectares of sheltered runs and a longest run of 750 m. The chairlift came out in 1999, so every lift needs skis or a board. In 2026 the lifts turned from 27 June to 23 August.
Two magic carpets, Beginner and Big Hill, plus the beginner slopes in the Bowl and on Hut Run, where the Snow Factory backs a snow guarantee on set dates. Group lessons take at most 8 people and start from $120.
Once you can ride a T-bar, the Summit, Painted and Maltese Cross tows open up the rest of the hill, with Summit Run, Painted Run and Home Run among the named runs. The resort pitches all of it at beginners and intermediates.
Tank Hill Terrain Park has boxes, pipes and rails for beginner and intermediate riders. It opens when conditions allow, and park lessons run there.
About 10 km of trails inside the resort are free with entry, McMillan's Trail and Mueller's Single Trail among them. Walking on them without snowshoes isn't allowed, and a Summit One Ride pass is $15 at the window.
Only inside Frosti Frog Toboggan Park, which has its own magic carpet. It's $20 with your own molded plastic toboggan or $40 with hire, peak sessions start at 9:15, 11, 12:45 and 2:30, and under 7s go free when an adult with a pass takes them.
Until the school holidays the lifts run Friday to Sunday on natural snow only. From the holidays they run daily to the end of the declared season.
Two magic carpets and made snow on the learner slopes.
Pleasant T-bar runs, though the longest is 750 m.
Very little to push a strong skier on a hill this size.
A toboggan park, sled dogs and dingoes, 2.5 hours from Melbourne.
An $89 adult pass in 2026, with $69 car entry on top.
In 2026 the lifts stopped on 23 August, the first in Australia to close.
Out of 5, scored for a day or weekend up from Melbourne.
The resort teaches from the Snowsports building in the village, Howling Huskys runs its dogs from the village in winter, and Noojee has a fishing guide for the green months.
Group ski and snowboard lessons of up to 8, plus private, family and terrain park lessons, with instructors who also teach in Mandarin, Spanish, French, Hebrew and Cantonese. Helmets are compulsory, and the pass and hire cost extra.
Their website →Sled Dog Dash rides from $330, Pat 'n' Play with the dogs for $20 a head, and a $90 Dingo Encounter with three resident alpine dingoes. Daily from the winter school holidays, low snow or not; sleds carry up to 160 kg.
Their website →The daily snow bus from Melbourne, with pickups at Fountain Gate, Warragul, Moe and Erica on the way.
Their website →Owner Hanno Parker guides trout fishing out of Noojee: $299 for a half day, $499 for a full day, $159 for a bait trip on Blue Rock Lake and $699 overnight in the high country.
Their website →Four places open up top in winter, plus a heated room where you can eat your own lunch. On the drive, Noojee's 1925 pub is where most cars stop.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner with views over West Gippsland, 8am to 8pm, kitchen closed 3:30 to 5:30. Dinner is the only meal it takes bookings for, by email.
Opposite the Frosti Hollow toboggan park, to sit down or take away. Friday to Sunday.
Hot food and coffee beside the slopes in the ski bowl, Thursday to Sunday in peak season.
A privately run bar next to Mt Baw Baw Apartments, open from 4pm in peak season and from 6pm on Fridays.
A heated, covered room for a packed lunch, 7am to 9pm, with electric barbecues nearby. It's near the roundabout before the ski bowl, by the dingoes.
The "Nooj Pub" on the Latrobe River, built in 1925 and the only building left after the 1926 and 1939 fires. Meals noon to 8:30pm daily, pizza all day, $15 parmas on Wednesdays and a big balcony.
Pub food in front of an open fire, with nine parmas on the menu.
Coffee and brunch in the middle of Noojee.
Catch a trout or salmon with free rods and bait, cook it on the barbecues, or buy smoked trout and caviar to take home. No booking needed.
Free-range pork, sausages and smoked meats in Neerim South, for stocking the lodge on the way up.
Hot and cold drinks and snacks in the Mt St Gwinear car park, Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays.
Walhalla's pub, with a whole section of the menu given to schnitzels.
Lunch and cake in the middle of Walhalla.
Wood-fired pizza and coffee at Coopers Creek, just before Walhalla.
Mountain venues trade in winter only. From September to June they stay shut except on event weekends.
Plan ahead
The mountain sells no fuel, has no ATM and runs a chain bay that can run dry, so most of the planning happens down the hill.
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FAQ
Answers checked October 2026. Prices and rules change each season, so confirm with the operator before you go.
Contact UsErica Ski Hire, at $45 for adult skis, boots and poles, though it's 37 km down the South Face side. In the village, Mt Baw Baw Ski Hire's Winter 2026 list has $55 and the resort's Village Store $67 with a helmet.
Photos: Alex Cohen (CC BY-SA 3.0), Sulz-90 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Fryboy (Public domain), Tangerineduel (CC BY 4.0)
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