Twelve hire points from Harrietville to Dinner Plain with what they charged in 2026, the chains you must carry up the Great Alpine Road, the entry fee and how to avoid it, and a village where you ski down to the lifts.
How do you get the best price on Hotham ski hire?
Book online with Hoys or Tirol if you can. Both take 30% off online against 20% at the counter, so a 2026 Sport package was $85 or $86 instead of $97 or $98. Driving up from Bright, Hoys in Harrietville hires skis and chains in one stop and fits its chains for free, and lodge guests can have Snow Monkey deliver gear to the door.
12 shops compared
Nine hire points along the ridge, two in Dinner Plain and one down in Harrietville. Hoys and Tirol print three prices, for Epic Pass holders, online orders and walk-ins, and none of the mountain shops hire chains.
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hoys Mt Hotham Ski Shop (The Shed)
30 Great Alpine Road, by the Corral day car park
Open to midnight on peak Fridays
|
$86 online, $98 walk-in | $86 online, $98 walk-in | Sport, Performance and Demo packages, Burton Step On demo boards, clothing, snow boots, toboggans | Book online → |
|
Hoys @ Jack Frost
3 Davenport Drive, on the Davenport side of Jack Frost
|
$86 online, $98 walk-in | $86 online, $98 walk-in | Ski and board packages, cross-country skis, snowshoes, toboggans, clothing from size 00 to 10XL | Book online → |
|
Hoys @ Hotham Hub, Wire Plain
Inside the Hotham Hub at Wire Plain, bus stop 12, Friday to Monday
|
Price shown when you book | Toboggans, snow-play clothing and boots, adult cross-country sets, snowshoes | Book online → | |
Tirol Sports
Level 1 of the Arlberg Hotel, bus stop 2
|
$85 online, $97 walk-in | Ask when you book | Sport, Performance and Demo packages, helmets (free for kids who hire), clothing, moon boots, toboggans | Book online → |
Zirky's Sports Hire
In the Zirky's building on the slopes, with its own Wintersteiger service center
|
$80 | $80 | Sport, Premium and Elite ski packages, snowboards, youth packages, ski lockers, waxing and tuning | Email or phone to reserve |
Snow Monkey
Jack Frost, at the Davenport end of the village
Free delivery to your lodge
|
From $54 | From $54 | Skis, boards, cross-country and backcountry gear, toboggans, clothing | Book online → |
|
Hotham Sports, Hotham Central
Main level of Hotham Central, the resort's own shop
Gear ready from 3pm the day before
|
Price shown when you book | Standard, Performance and Demo packages, helmets, jackets and pants, moon boots, wrist guards | Book online → | |
|
Board Box Snowboard Demo
Hotham Central
|
Ask in store | Demo snowboards from Burton, Nitro, Capita, Korua and Salomon; the first day's fee comes off a board bought the same day | In store | |
|
OneTree Sports Demo
Hotham Central
|
Ask in store | Demo skis, touring skis with skins, touring boots, splitboards, avalanche gear | In store | |
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hoys Dinner Plain Ski Shop
191 Big Muster Drive, on the main roundabout
|
$86 online, $98 walk-in | $86 online, $98 walk-in | Skis, boards, cross-country skis, snowshoes, toboggans, clothing, snow boots | Book online → |
|
Hotham Sports, Dinner Plain
Horseshoe Circle in the village center
|
Price shown when you book | Skis, boards, boots, clothing, moon boots, snowshoes, toboggans, plus a lift ticket pickup machine | Book online → | |
| Shop | Adult ski package, 1 day | Snowboard package, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hoys Harrietville Ski Centre (The A-Frame)
188 Great Alpine Road, Harrietville
Chains hired and fitted
|
$86 online, $98 walk-in | $86 online, $98 walk-in | Ski and board packages, clothing, cross-country gear, snowshoes, chains, and a secure park-and-ride car park | Book online → |
Hoys rates are its 2026 peak prices (27 June to 31 August), Tirol's come from its June 2026 list, and Zirky's prints no season. The resort's own shops took their prices down when the lifts stopped on 6 September. Confirm the price with the shop before you go.
Where to hire
Drivers coming through Bright do best hiring in Harrietville, where skis and the chains you need for the climb come from one counter. If you're sleeping on the mountain, hire on the ridge and leave the gear out of the car.
Dinner Plain sits on the Omeo side about 11 km past Hotham. It opened in 1986 on freehold land, built only in timber, local stone and corrugated iron, and you can stay there without paying Hotham's daily fee.
From Dinner Plain to the Hotham lifts
Mt Hotham Airport, for charter and private flights, is near Dinner Plain, about 20 km from the resort.
The Great Alpine Road crosses the top of the resort and stays open from both directions all year. From Melbourne, allow about 4.25 hours (380 km) through Bright and Harrietville, or 5.5 hours (460 km) around through Omeo.
On days chains are required, a Hoys crew works the roadside bays between Harrietville and Hotham, until midnight on Fridays. Chains hired from Hoys are fitted and taken off free; fitting your own costs $25 and removal $15.
A car paid $69 a day in 2026 for any stop inside the resort, even a toilet break or a photo, with parking and the village bus included. Driving straight through costs nothing if you leave by the other side, and bus and taxi fares already cover it. Entry permits →
Carry diamond-pattern chains through the declared winter period, winter tires or not. Ladder chains, spider chains and snow socks are banned, and nobody hires chains on the mountain, so pick them up in Myrtleford, Harrietville or Omeo. Chain rules →
In a 2WD the Omeo side through Dinner Plain is less steep and more sheltered. The Harrietville road is narrow and exposed, and it's usually the first to close in a storm.
HothamBus runs daily from Melbourne, Bright and Harrietville, and its Hotham Hopper meets Sydney flights at Albury. Day trips from Bright or Harrietville start at $69. HothamBus →
Day parking (blue signs) runs 7am to 11pm and is cleared overnight for the snowplows. The Corral car park fills first, and the Alpine Gateway car park at Loch drops straight into Heavenly Valley, so leave it to experienced skiers.
Free with entry, every 15 minutes from 7am to 12:30am in the season. It doesn't loop to the Alpine Gateway, which has a shuttle from Hotham Central at 8:30am, 1pm and 4pm.
Hotham and Dinner Plain sell no fuel and the resort has no EV chargers. Fill up in Bright, Myrtleford or Omeo, which also sell alpine diesel for diesel cars.
Mt Hotham Airport takes charter and private flights only, about 30 minutes from Albury or Canberra and 50 from Sydney. Each passenger pays $22 on arrival and again on departure.
The village sits on the ridge at about 1,750 m, just below the 1,861 m summit, so you click in at the door and ski down to a lift. Hotham covers 320 hectares and shares the Epic Australia Pass with Falls Creek and Perisher.
Start on the Summit Trainer and Summit Quad. Adult group lessons meet between the Summit Trainer and The Bird, and the 3-day Beginner Bundle for adults was $599. Regulars send first-timers who want long gentle greens to Falls Creek.
The Village Chair opens up some of the favorite intermediate runs, Road Runner serves the Sun Run, and Orchard has easy groomers. Gotcha gives intermediate and expert riders more room.
Heavenly Valley holds the resort's steepest runs, and the Extreme Zone and Mary's Slide, one of the hardest runs in the country, fall away below the road.
The Big D progression park has a jump line and rails, and Summit Terrain Park sits skier's right of the Summit chair. In 2026 the Big D ran night skiing on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 5 to 8pm, free for Epic Pass holders.
More than 35 km of trail across Hotham and Dinner Plain, most of it starting at Wire Plain and free with resort entry. Hotham also has Australia's only biathlon range.
Two learner lifts and a $599 bundle, but few long greens.
Village Chair, Road Runner and the Orchard groomers.
Heavenly Valley, the Extreme Zone and Mary's Slide.
Over 35 km of free trail, linked to Dinner Plain.
Ski school from age 3, but non-skiers can't ride the chairs.
How Hotham suits each kind of skier, out of 5.
Kids' lessons start from Hotham Central, and the sled dogs work out of Wire Plain behind the Hotham Hub.
Mighty Mites takes skiers from 3 to 6 and Kids Club 7 to 14, half or full day from 10am, with lunch on full days. Peak dates sell out and there's no waiting list. Kids 4 and under ski free with a Mountain Access Card.
Their website →Sled dog tours and husky meet-and-greets from behind the Hotham Hub. They have run at Hotham since 2015, and their 2026 season finished on 6 September.
Their website →A Nordic ski school teaching cross-country, with sunset snowshoe tours and backcountry ski touring at Hotham Heights and Dinner Plain.
Their website →Epic Pass holders ride the Road Runner chair from 7:30am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Their website →Much of Hotham sleeps in lodges and cooks in, so it has fewer restaurants than Falls Creek. Book dinner ahead at Zirky's, Sir Loins and Jack Frost.
Italian downstairs in Hotham Central, with pasta, pizza and house cocktails. A pizza or pasta with a house drink was $25 on specials.
Coffee, family lunches and dinners, pizza from 4pm, live music, and happy hour 4pm to 6pm.
The old AJ's, with breakfast from 7:30am, pies and soup at lunch, and apres from 4:30pm.
Opposite the main lifts and home to Mount Hotham Brewery. Pizza and hearty meals from 5pm, with live music on Fridays and Saturdays in peak.
A few steps from the Summit chair, with an open fire and apres music in the bar. The cafe opens 7:30am to 3pm.
At the bottom of the Heavenly Valley chair, open while it runs. Breakfast wraps, cinnamon jam donuts, burgers and weekend DJs from 2 to 4pm.
A licensed soup kitchen in a 1949 hut at the top of Black Snake, serving soup and quiche from Harrietville.
Upstairs at the Big D, open to 10pm Wednesday to Saturday, with burgers, wings, Glühwein and an arcade.
Breakfast through to dinner on the slopes, mains $34 to $46, and schnitzel night on Wednesdays.
Share plates, a feed-me menu, a pasta wheel and 2-for-1 cocktails at 110 Great Alpine Road. It plans to reopen on the King's Birthday weekend of 2027.
Pub food, pizza and takeaway next to the Big D, with live sport, the supermarket and the post office under one roof.
A steakhouse from Bright, at Lawlers Apartments seven nights a week in winter. Wabi Sabi in the same building serves ramen from 11am to 4pm.
It calls itself Australia's highest moonshine distillery. A tasting room and Italian home cooking from 4:30pm daily, with a dog-friendly yard.
A restaurant open 11:30am to 9pm on Big Muster Drive, with the Cobungra Burger Bar at lunch.
The pub on Horseshoe Circle, renovated early in 2026, with three open fires, pool and darts. Walk-ins only; it trades daily again from winter 2027.
Nearly everything closes with the lifts. The General stays open all year, 8am to 8pm daily in summer, and Hotel High Plains in Dinner Plain is on the resort's summer list.
Local tips
Mostly about the climb from Harrietville, the entry fee and where the good snow is.
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FAQ
Answers checked October 2026. Prices and rules change each season, so confirm with the operator before you go.
Contact UsSnow Monkey at Jack Frost advertises packages from $54 a day. Among shops with a full price list, Tirol charged $71 for Epic Pass holders, $85 online and $97 walk-in for a 2026 Sport package, a dollar under Hoys at each level. Zirky's lists a Sport ski package at $80.
Photos: Chris Solnordal (CC BY-SA 3.0), John O'Neill (Public domain), Brett Stanley (CC BY-SA 4.0), Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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