The Bogong High Plains Traverse – 5 Totally Maxed-Out Days Through the Heart of the Victorian Alps

Building off the already-superlative Bogong Circuit, the Bogong High Plains Traverse makes a strong argument for a bit more climbing, a bit less backtracking, and a whole lot of Type 2 fun exploring.

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Taungurung and Gunaikurnai 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.

Quick Overview of the Bogong High Plains Traverse

The Bogong High Plains Traverse is everything that makes summer in the High Country special. On this 75km loop you’ll summit the highest point in Victoria, soak up some shade under Snow gums, and carpe that diem for once-a-day swims. Located within the Alpine National Park region, the traverse is designed to be hiked in 5-6 days, with a clutch resupply halfway through in Falls Creek.

Bogong High Plains Traverse Facts

Distance: 75km
Duration: 5-6 days
Elevation Gain: 4,042m (!!!)
Nearest Town: Falls Creek, Tawonga

Your friends will totally love you for making them do something so steep

About the Bogong High Plains Traverse

For me, the most cherished aspect of this hike, the most extra-special part about it – and much of Alpine National Park in general – isn’t even the tantalizingly panoramic views of the Australian Alps.

Nor is it the crystalline waters of each swimming hole. Not the pensive winds sweeping across the high plains. Nor the shimmering quartz of an afternoon cliff-face. Not even the reverent howls of the alpine dingo at night.

Those are all inimitable of course, but the best part? The best part is that it’s still totally free and totally breezy. No parking fees, no permits, and no reservations are required for this area (yet). Come prepared and you’ll leave with your soul reeling.

And always hit the peak for sunset

History of Mt Bogong

Alpine National Park falls within the traditional lands of the Taungurung and Gunaikurnai People. Mt Bogong is named for the moth that was traditionally eaten nearby.

Throughout the many seasons, First Nations groups gathered there for intertribal corroborees, settling of disputes, trading, marriages, the initiation of young men, and to feast on the Bogong moths. After their displacement, it was populated by settlers and cattlemen for grazing.

If I was a moth I would totally aestivate here

How to Get to The Bogong High Plains Traverse

By Car

This hike starts and ends at Mountain Creek Campground, which lies at the Alpine National Park boundary, 12km east of Tawonga.

It’s free to leave your car parked at the campground. Or if you’ve got 4WD, you can shave off a few kilometres of walking on unsealed roads and leave your car further up at the Staircase Spur Trailhead. Sadly, this part of the High Country still remains largely inaccessible by public transport.

Life is easier when you resign yourself to cold-ass plunges way before they happen

Where to Stay Along The Bogong High Plains Traverse

A mixture of historic huts and dispersed camping mean that, as long as you’ve memorised all your indispensable LNT ABCs, then the options above treeline or in the heart of the Snow gums are boundless.

Apart from this, feel free to get swanky in Falls Creek. It’s very possible to make this a cruisy six-day hike by splitting up the day in and out of town if you’re really feeling it.

I can’t say I wasn’t briefly tempted by the siren song of a jacuzzi on a balcony and some kind of cocktail with a French name I wasn’t going to try and pronounce. Who hasn’t been there, honestly?

But ultimately how could you resist something this cottagecore

Skill Level for The Bogong High Plains Traverse

Advanced

You’ll get a healthy serving of Type 2 fun on this traverse. Some of the spicier moments are:

• At least two un-bridged river crossings (one with a chain, one with a log)
• Wayfinding across the high plains (due to the non-existent Grey Hills Track)
• Hand over foot climbing/descending on very, very steep tracks (because Australia loves hating switchbacks <3)
• Lots of lovely and polite Highland copperheads
• Extremely unpredictable weather (how does it keep raining while the sun is shining?)

Read more: What is Type 2 Fun? A Guide to the Fun Scale

A bit of wayfinding toward the track in the distance

Essential Gear for the Bogong High Plains Traverse

• The highest SPF sunscreen humanly possible
• Swimsuit and microfibre towel for daily dips
• Camp shoes/crocs are helpful with the water crossings
• Trekking poles are also helpful during crossings and came in handy on the steep climbs/descents too
• A GPS and this .GPX file are a good idea for the lesser-travelled sections
• Water filter for the rainwater tanks
• Snake bandage
• If you somehow make it all five days without using a rain jacket then the BTAC should send you a medal

Read more: How to Keep Yourself Safe Around Snakes in the Outdoors

Can you hear this photo?

What It’s Like Hiking The Bogong High Plains Traverse

For those who want to truly explore the thresholds of their adventure capabilities, then this traverse beckons with arms as open as the high plains themselves. I could probably enter the gnarled embrace of a stoic Snow gum and never let go. The risk is high but the reward is even higher. The pain is abundant but the gain is superabundant.

Since this route leaves from Mountain Creek Campground, there are two opportunities to summit Bogong, which can both be seized in nice weather. Apart from this, at least three other peaks are easily bagged, and you can swim in two rivers, two waterfalls, and one lake. Plus the Foodworks in Falls Creek sells those little mini bottles of Fireball, just saying.

Day 1 — Mountain Creek Campground to Cleve Cole Hut

Distance: 12.5km
Duration: 7 hours

The long days of summer mean that, if you’re out early enough, you could reach the campground by lunchtime and be on trail after a cute picnic. The 12.5km distance is short, but the climb is indeed one for the books. First, follow the unsealed road from the campground to the Staircase Spur Trailhead, then climb endlessly to Bivouac Hut – a beautiful spot to take a break, dry your sweat-soaked clothes, and top up on water from the tank.

Leaving the hut, keep climbing until you’re totally above the treeline and in true alpine environment. Another few hundred metres up is the Bogong Saddle junction, which offers a short jaunt to the summit with a lodestar cairn. If the weather eases, it’s worth hitting the summit, because who knows what it’ll be like by the time you’re passing through again in five days.

After the saddle, follow the ridgeline southeast all the way down to Cleve Cole Hut, which rests by a creek amongst some otherworldly Snow gums.

This descent ALMOST made me want to get into cross-country skiing

Day 2 — Cleve Cole Hut to Johnstons/Edmondsons Hut

Distance: 22km
Duration: 10 hours

If you didn’t hit Howmans Falls for a sunset dip, then it’s definitely an imperative side-trip for the morning, as the pools at the top are some of the most scenic in Victoria. After that, it’s a long descent down to the Big River, where there’s an impromptu campground, and a chain across the water for safer crossing; another great swim opportunity.

After the river, it’s basically straight up the Duane Spur to the treeline and Ropers Hut, with views all the way back to Mt Bogong. After a break at the hut, pick up the Big River Fire Track, and follow it right into the heart of the high plains. An easy side trip to Mt Nelse offers wide-open views of the entire alps, and if you’re in time for sunset, then it’s a cruisy walk down to either Edmondsons or Johnstons hut just below.

It might be an easy summit, but the cairn at the top of Mt Nelse is maybe the best view of the whole hike

Day 3 — Johnstons or Edmondsons Hut to Falls Creek to Grey Hills

Distance: 21km
Duration: 10 hours

A criminally easy morning leads downhill on the Heathy Spur Track straight into Falls Creek. If you’re arriving around lunchtime, this is a great opportunity to have a quick dip in the Rocky Valley Lake on the edge of town, since you walk right past it along the dam.

Once in Falls Creek, you can choose to end your day early and put your feet up, or else you can just ball out on a big lunch and a coffee, maybe a pint or two at the pub, then do a breezy resupply at the Foodworks in town with plenty of time to cruise out.

Leaving town, a well-manicured packhorse trail contours the highway to Howmans Gap YMCA cottages, where you’ll pick up the Spion Kopje trail.

Head down to Rocky Valley Creek where the only crossing is by fallen log, and then it’s straight up the steepest mountain of your life to the eponymous summit. Since dispersed camping is allowed inside the national park, pretty much anywhere that’s flat makes a stunning site – with some spots appearing more historically utilised than others.

Prepare for the steepest climb of your life after this crossing

Day 4 — Grey Hills to Michell Hut

Distance: 20km
Duration: 9 hours

Leaving Spion Kopje behind, find the marker for the Grey Hills Track and get your monocular out – because it’s about 1.5km of wayfinding along the ridge until you pick up a faint trail around the Crows Nest. From here it’s a somewhat-more-forgiving descent down to lower ridgelines, which you’ll abide all the way to Bogong Creek campground, where a nearby culvert provides easy water access.

From the campground, climb bravely back up the Quartz Ridge Track until you’re back above treeline, feeling that magnetic pull back over to Bogong. Hopefully the weather is nice for the summit this time, as it’s divine to spend an extended amount of time here reflecting. A long pensive rest is in order, as it’s a scenic descent down the Eskdale Spur to Michell Hut.

Had to get some weather here eventually

Day 5 — Michell Hut to Mountain Creek Campground

Distance: 12.5km
Duration: 5 hours

The last day is the cheat day, as it’s a gradual downhill on the Eskdale Spur to a trailhead and car park. The unsealed road here winds through classic native bush, with huge Victorian Ash trees still standing.

Follow Mountain Creek all the way back to where you left your car and your urban sensibilities. Wash that lovely stench off in the creek at the campground, and treat yourself to something decadent. Don’t worry, darling, there’s literally no possible way to immediately eat back the calories you just burned on this hike. Cheat day!!!!!

And don’t forget to thank your dearly beloved amigos for coming along on this intrepid hike with you

Handy Tips For The Bogong High Plains Traverse

Always Opt For the Swim

Okay maybe not if it’s raining. But if you can dry off, then it’s always worth it. And this route is designed to hit at least one swimming spot a day – which also means that you can save a little weight by keeping one pair of clothes clean too. Howman Falls and the lake/dam at Falls Creek were my two highlights.

Read more: How To Stay Safe Around Swimming Holes & Waterfalls

Resupply in Falls Creek

It’s worth checking to make sure the Foodworks in Falls Creek will be open when you plan on hitting it. They may not be at Costco levels of abundance, but you’ll easily find everything you need to get you through 2.5 days of hiking.

Tortillas, peanut butter, candy bars, and plenty of chips. Plus some hot food if you don’t feel like splashing out for a restaurant meal. The bike shop across the street also does good hot food and coffee in summer.

Parking at Mountain Creek Campground

The campground can get quite busy on the weekends. But hey, it’s free and it’s inside the national park. Who can blame anyone?

At any rate, there’s usually still space to shimmy a car in somewhere, but the pro tip is to keep driving up the unsealed Mountain Creek road towards the Staircase Spur trailhead if you want to shave off a little distance at the beginning/end of your hike. A good 4WD could easily cross the creek when it’s low and make it all the way to the trailhead.

Read more: 9 Best 4WD Tracks Victoria

What is this, a centre for ants?!?

Something I always forget about the High Country is how there are certain ridgelines that have just been completely taken over by ants (looking at you Razorback). It does make it kind of hard to find a break spot sometimes, but honestly, the way I see it, if that’s the biggest obstacle that you encounter on a hike then you’re still having a great time. Just watch your shoes and be prepared to have to keep moving through a few sections.

FAQs The Bogong High Plains Traverse

When is the best time of year to do The Bogong High Plains Traverse?

As this hike is way, way up in the sky (remember, over 4km of elevation!) the best walking season is between November and May. Snow often covers the track in winter, so only hike during that season if you’re experienced with icy terrain and prepared for backcountry adventures.

Are there swimming spots at The Bogong High Plains Traverse?

Yep! There is ample opportunity to swim on this hike – each day mentioned has at least one swimming spot. As it’s the High Country, don’t expect the tepid waters of QLD – it will be bloody cold. Hiking is a surefire way to warm up after an icy dip, but take extra precautions and gear if you are especially sensitive to the cold.

Is there public transport to The Bogong High Plains Traverse trailhead?

At this point in time, there’s no public transport to the trailhead at Mountain Creek Campground. It’s a pretty long way from Melbourne – about four hours – so we definitely suggest having a car to get you there.