5 Alpine Huts in 2 Days: Bikepacking Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut & Beyond in Kosciuszko National Park

We acknowledge that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Ngarigo people who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

About Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut

The High Plains of Kosciuszko National Park, particularly the region around Long Plain, is a great option for a weekend bikepacking mission. Away from the more mountainous terrain that surrounds Mt Kosciuszko, the ride from Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut and beyond offers the feel of the alpine without the extra elevation.

How to Get to Long Plain Hut

Long Plain Hut can be easily reached from the nearby towns of Cooma or Tumut, along the Snowy Mountains Highway and then Long Plain Road. Long Plain Road is accessible by 2WD, but you’ll need a 4WD car if you’re driving into some of the more remote areas.

It’s about a three hour’s drive from Canberra and 5.5 hour’s from Sydney.

Please note! Long Plain Road is gated during winter months and inaccessible by car.

Bill Jones Hut

Places to Stay in Long Plain

Along Long Plain Road, camping is your only option for staying in the High Plains. There are several drive-in campsites, with basic facilities. You’ll need to bring your own firewood, toilet paper, and water, making sure you leave no trace and pack everything out with you.

Two of the best campsites for car camping are Bullocks Hill Campsite and Long Plain Hut Campsite (where this route begins). Please note that you’re not permitted to camp inside historic huts, except in an emergency.

Once you’ve left your car behind, you’ll be able to enjoy remote camping throughout the Long Plain area. Be sure to check for any restrictions, closures, and alerts before heading into the area.

Read more: Things to Know Before You go Backcountry Camping

History of Long Plain

Long Plain is home to around 20 historic Kosciuszko huts, used by graziers during the 1800s and early 1900s. There are two restored historic huts along Long Plain Road, with the rest a little further afield, some accessible by car, others just by bike, foot, or horse. The ruins of the gold mining town of Kiandra are also in this area, along with the Yarrangobilly Caves.

Millers Huts

Skill Level – Moderate to Advanced

Bikepacking and hiking throughout the High Plains area takes a moderate to advanced skill level. You’ll need to be self-sufficient, carrying food, first aid, tools, and camping equipment.

While the actual cycling skill level is low, the remote and inaccessible terrain, coupled with a lack of phone reception raises the skill level needed to safely access this area by bike.

It’s always a good idea to fill out a trip intention form with NSW National Parks and carry an emergency communication device with you.

Distance Covered / Elevation Gain / Duration

50km / 1000m / 2 Days

Essential Gear

• A bike – well maintained and suitable for off road riding. For this trip I used a single speed mountain bike
• Shelter – a 3 or 4 season tent is a good idea for spring as the weather is very changeable. I used a 1 person Mont Moondance FN (full nylon) for this trip. The lightweight design and small packaway size makes it easy to carry by bike and the ultra-waterproof materials give extra confidence in changeable weather conditions
• Water filter – there are plenty of creeks around Long Plain
• Poo shovel – not all the huts have toilets, make sure you know how to poo in the bush
• Emergency communication device – there’s limited phone signal in the area. I carry a Garmin InReach mini
• First aid kit with snake bandages
• A warm sleeping bag – I used the Mont Zero Superlight bag as it packs away to a very small size, but delivers a high warmth to size ratio
• Warm clothes – even when the days are warm, the nights can be cool. I wore my Mont Zero Ultralight down puffer jacket for much of the day and spent my evening in thermal top and bottoms

Mont Moondance Tent in the wild

What’s it like bikepacking Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut?

This trip was a challenge right from the beginning. La Nina’s heavy and constant rainfalls, coupled with some late season snowfall in Kosciuszko National Park led to many back and forths within our bikepacking group chat and caused several date changes and more than a few route changes.

Finally landing on a dry-ish weekend in late October, five of us convened in the High Plains, at Long Plain Hut campground for a weekend bikepacking adventure.

Day 1 – Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut (plus a detour to 3 bonus historic huts)

Distance: 40km
Duration: 6 hours riding time

A short distance from the Snowy Mountains Highway, Long Plain Hut is a great car camping spot, popular with camping trailers and horse riders, with terrific views down the length of Long Plain Road. It was here that we parked our cars for the weekend, loaded up the bikes with our camping gear and prepared to hit the (dirt) road.

Packing the camping gear onto my bike is always one of my favourite parts of any trip. For this trip, I was able to easily pack the Mont Moondance tent into my saddlebag and the poles were short enough to fit inside too. The rest of my sleeping gear was packed into small dry bags on my front forks.

The Mont Zero Superlight sleeping bag and my pillow were strapped to one side and my sleeping mat was on the other. My other clothing, cooking gear, tools, first aid kit, and miscellaneous items were packed into my handlebar bag. I was also carrying a hip-pack for my camera gear.

We dropped down the short descent from the hut, towards Long Plain Road, then continued out along the well maintained and dry roads from Long Plain across the Port Phillip Fire Trail towards Ghost Gully Campground.

Detour to Millers Hut

Along the way, we detoured to Millers Hut, a few kilometres from the main trail along an overgrown and little used management track. Here, we created Millers Deli and stopped for a leisurely lunch outside the hut.

Talk about gourmet!

Not going to lie, my salami, cheese, cucumber and tomato baguette is one of the finest bikepacking lunches I’ve ever created and carrying fresh vegetables (while bulky) is an awesome way to improve your camp cooking.

Back on Track to Hainsworth Hut

Once we reached Ghost Gully campground (you can also drive here) we turned onto Mosquito Creek Trail.

Hot tip! Ghost Gully is home to the only toilet on this route, BYO toilet paper.

Mosquito Creek Trail begins with a short, pinchy climb, before a longer and gentle descent. After a couple of kilometres, the trail opens up onto some wide open plains, delivering peace and quiet. It’s worth noting that this trail is closed to cars, so is a little rougher, but also feels quieter and more remote. It’s part of the Australian Alps Walking Trail and we happened to pass three hikers while we were out here.

Three kilometres past Ghost Gully campground, we reached the turn off to Hainsworth Hut. The access trail crests a small hill, before bringing you down behind the hut.

It’s nestled in a small valley, with a creek running across the front of the hut at the bottom of a small slope. I imagine the creek is normally a small, shallow waterway, but at the time of visiting it was over knee-deep in the middle and flowing with quite a fast pace!

Detour to Bill Jones Hut & Old Currango Homestead

As the route to Hainsworth Hut from Long Plain was quite short, we arrived around 1:30pm. With plenty of daylight left, our group had a few different ideas for spending the afternoon.

I decided to pitch my Mont Moondance tent before heading out on the bikes with Marty to explore a couple more huts. With so much water around in the High Plains, I was glad to have brought the Moondance for this trip. With a 25,000mm waterhead floor I had no worries about keeping my gear dry overnight.

Marty and I added another 28km to the morning’s short ride, continuing along Mosquito Creek Trail and visiting Bill Jones Hut and Old Currango Homestead. We’re both regular bikepackers, having visited the area around Long Plain several times.

Old Currango is Marty’s favourite hut in the area and well worth a visit. It’s one of the oldest huts and has some of the best views around (especially if you ask Marty). Sat on a low hillside, Old Currango commands wide views across the plains, looking towards the mountains beyond.

Our excursion to Bill Jones Hut was by far the muddiest terrain of our weekend. Generally softer trails anyway, there was also significant trail damage from brumbies and evidence of recent brumby ‘trapping’ efforts – based on the concentrated area of hoof prints and trodden ground.

Bill Jones Hut is much more basic and rustic than Old Currango, but still worth a visit if you have the time and energy. The route along Mosquito Creek Trail to both of these huts traversed a reasonably large hill, so should only be attempted if you’re feeling energetic and have enough light, day or artificial, to complete it.

Returning to camp, we cooked up a variety of dehydrated meals – Millers Deli was definitely not recreated this evening. We were joined for the evening by a couple of AAWT hikers, who shared stories of their journey and their similar experience of being flexible with their plans because of the weather and the raised river crossings.

Icy! | @timmeh500

Day 2 – Hainsworth Hut to Long Plain Hut

Distance: 11km
Duration: 1 hour riding time

As often happens when camping in alpine areas, the overnight temperatures dropped. Significantly. I woke around 4am feeling much colder than I had at any other time.

I was sleeping in a two degree rated Mont Zero Superlight sleeping bag with a liner, which was plenty warm enough the previous night. However, I popped on my puffer jacket for extra warmth, pulled the bag’s generous hood over my head and settled back down to sleep.

When I woke properly a few hours later, I reached outside to open the outer door and I discovered there’d been a frost overnight – evidence of how much the temperature had plummeted.

It’s never easy getting up when it’s frosty, especially when the sun hasn’t crested the nearby hilltops. But the lure of a freshly ground camp coffee did the trick. A slow morning passed, the warming sun arrived, tents shook off their frosty coat and we waited for them to dry before breaking camp.

The only way to start the day | @timmeh500

By the time we left Hainsworth Hut, it was warm enough to ride in shorts and T-shirt, classic spring alpine weather. While I was grateful for the warmth of the Mont Zero Ultralight down jacket during the morning, I was extra grateful for the tiny packaway size once it was time to start riding.

We backtracked the relatively short distance along Mosquito Creek Trail and Port Phillip Fire Trail, arriving at Long Plain Hut about an hour later.

Despite changing our plans several times, we were more than satisfied that we’d achieved what we’d hoped for all along – enjoying a few days of riding bikes and camping in a beautiful, quiet, Australian alpine environment.

Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut FAQs

What bike should I ride in Long Plain?

Bike choice is incredibly personal. Given the off-road nature of the environment, a mountain bike, or gravel bike, should be suitable. The most important factors to consider are having grippy tyres and that you’re carrying the necessary tools to fix punctures and other mechanical problems.

What shelter is best for camping in Long Plain?

The weather is incredibly changeable in the alpine environment of Long Plain. Ideally your shelter should be waterproof – both on the groundsheet and fly. If you’re visiting the area during winter months, you need to consider the possibility of your shelter experiencing snowfall. For this trip I used the Mont Moondance FN.

Where is the Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut route located?

This bikepacking trail is located in the Long Plain area of Kosciuszko National Park, NSW.

How do you get to Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut route?

This trail starts at Long Plain Hut campground, which is accessed along Long Plain Road, a turnoff of Snowy Mountains Highway in the High Plains region.

When is the Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut route open?

Long Plain Road is closed to cars during the winter months, but is accessible to hikers, cyclists, and horses year round.

Is the Long Plain Hut to Hainsworth Hut route good for beginners?

This route is not ideal for beginners in the backcountry. Although riding this route is not too difficult, because of the remote nature of the trail and the need to be self-sufficient, some backcountry camping experience is necessary.

How long is the Long Plain to Hainsworth Hut route?

From hut-to-hut it’s 22km total, however with detours to other historic huts around the Long Plain area, the route is 52km total.

Can I stay in the historic huts around Long Plain?

Huts are for emergency shelter only, not for accommodation. You should always have your own shelter with you when visiting the area.