Buller Huts Trail – A Week-Long Hike Through the Best of Victoria’s High Country

The Buller Huts Trail is a challenging 96km multi-day hike taking in the best of Victoria’s alpine region. Commencing at Mt Buller, this circuit hike is a great challenge for experienced hikers looking to summit some of the premier peaks in the region.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Countries on which these adventures take place who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants, for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Quick Overview

Buller Huts Trail is a 96km, Grade 5 hike located in Victoria’s High Country. The circuit takes an average of six to seven days to complete.

About Buller Huts Trail

The Buller Huts Trail offers an advanced and challenging hike in Victoria’s beautiful and remote alpine region, passing a number of iconic High Country huts along the combination of 4WD trails and technical signal tracks. The trail includes some serious elevation, resulting in an epically scenic circuit with views you’ll never forget.

Buller Huts Trail History

The Buller Huts Trail was conceived by passionate outdoorsman Darren Edwards, who mapped out the route by linking together existing trails and 4WD tracks around Mt Buller. The trails passed a number of historic High Country huts, including the iconic Craigs Hut, Bluff Hut, Lovicks Hut, and Vallejo Gantner Hut.

Using wood and tin, these huts were built by hand around the mid-1800s by musterers, miners, rangers, and farmers to provide safe shelter whilst traversing the harsh alpine landscape. Due to decay, bushfires, and damage, only a few of the original huts remain today.

More recently, new huts have been built by ski and hiking groups. Due to their remoteness, many huts are only accessible on foot.

How to Get to Buller Huts Trail

By Car

The trailhead is located at Mt Buller, a popular ski resort just 3.5 hours north of Melbourne by car.  The trailhead is accessible by 2WD, but during winter chains are required.

A car park is available on Summit Road near Village Square. On weekends during the peak summer months, it can get busy.

By Bus

Unfortunately, public transport is only available to Mt Buller during the snow season, so you’ll need a vehicle to get to the trailhead.

Please note: Mt Buller has limited facilities, so you’ll need to bring your own food or stock up on your way to the trailhead. Mansfield is the closest town and has two supermarkets, and several cafes and pubs.

Where to Stay Along the Buller Huts Trail

As most of the hike traverses the Alpine National Park, dispersed camping is allowed. There are also a number of designated campgrounds that can get busy in the warmer months. Some campgrounds, such as Bluff and Craig’s Hut, include water tanks and toilets, but these shouldn’t be relied upon.

Be sure to plan your route around accessing water from reliable sources, always carry more water than you need, and remember to leave no trace.

The Buller Huts Trail website recommends campsite options for a seven-day itinerary. Campsites that are particularly noteworthy include Mt Speculation, Vallejo Gantner, and Bluff Hut.

It can be tempting to sleep in the huts, but these backcountry huts should only be used in emergencies. Be mindful of following hut etiquette and fire safety codes.

Skill Level

Advanced

The Buller Huts Trail traverses remote parts of the Victorian High Country, and while the track is generally well formed, it’s not well signed. Knowledge of navigation is highly recommended.

Read more: Navigating With a Map & Compass

There are a number of steep and technical ascents and descents – including rock scrambles that can be challenging with a heavy pack. The weather can change quickly in the alpine region, so proper preparation for all weather conditions is required. This hike is best suited for  confident multi-day hikers.

Distance / Duration / Elevation Gain of the Buller Huts Trail

96km / 6-7 days / 5474m

The Buller Huts Trail takes six to eight days to complete. There are multiple side trails to visit peaks or huts slightly off the main route, which may require additional days depending on your speed. My partner and I completed the hike in six days.

Essential Gear for the Buller Huts Trail

• Compass and map (downloaded and printed)
• PLB or GPS device
• Hiking pack
• Tent
• Sleeping gear (mat, sleeping bag, pillow)
• Food for the week including an emergency meal – if you plan ahead and have a 4WD, you could arrange a food drop)
• 3L water and water filter – tanks and streams are available, best practice is to filter or purify your water
• Rain gear
• Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, sunglasses)
• Head torch
• First aid kit (including a snake bite kit)
• Hiking boots

What it’s Like to Hike the Buller Huts Trail

Day 1: Mt Buller Village – Eight Mile Flat

Distance: 18.7km
Duration: 6-8 hours

To make the most of the potentially long day ahead of us, my partner and I stayed overnight at one of the ski lodges operated by Blue Dirt which offers simple bunk accommodation to hikers and mountain bikers in the summer months. After parking our car at Village Square, we hoisted our heavy packs – filled with six days’ worth of food – and made our way immediately uphill, through the village, and beyond.

We soon joined the Summit Nature Trail to the summit car park, where we took the chance to dump our packs and make the short but steep hike to the top of Mt Buller.

After taking in the views, it was back to our packs and down through the ski slopes to join the 4 Mile Spur track. It was a long and challenging route down an often-overgrown single track, which was difficult on our knees.

We finally emerged at the Howqua River crossing, where we took some time to cool off and refill our water. The water level was knee-deep when we crossed, but this varies depending on recent rainfall and the season.

It was another two hours along a mix of single and 4WD tracks before we arrived at Eight Mile Flat. The campground is accessible by car, but we were able to find a nice spot to ourselves.

Day 2: Eight Mile Flat – Bluff Hut

Distance: 14km
Duration: 6-9 hours

Despite being the shortest day on the itinerary, the walk up to Bluff Hut shouldn’t be underestimated – it was a long, steep, and challenging ascent along Eight Mile Spur.

Initially, the track winds through forest before reaching Pineapple Flat, where we stopped for a breather and lunch. After a brief walk along a 4WD track, the final 1.5km push up to Bluff Hut involved rock scrambling along a more technical track before we finally emerged above the treeline. We were rewarded with a stunning 360° view of the High Country.

From the summit, it’s an easy walk through some alpine meadows to reach Bluff Hut, where we arrived just in time to set up our tent before rain began. We gratefully used the hut to cook our dinner and keep dry as the rain continued.

Day 3: Bluff Hut – Vallejo Gantner Hut

Distance: 19km
Duration: 6-8 hours

We woke to a cold and misty morning, so we speedily cooked up some hot brekkie and coffee, before heading towards Mt Lovick. It was a straightforward walk along the 4WD track, with no views to be had due to the fog. After 6km, we had a quick break at the picturesque Lovicks Hut.

The track continued to several viewpoints atop Helicopter Spur and Picture Point, where we caught a few glimpses of the valley below. Eventually we turned onto the Australian Alpine Walking Track. We enjoyed being back on a single track hiking through the beautiful mountain bush. Our spirits were further lifted by the skies clearing as we began our ascent up Mount Magdala. It was a short leg-burner of a climb, and we were treated to an amazing lunch spot in the sunshine at the summit.

The later descent past the picturesque Hells Window and the wildflower-filled alpine meadows as we summited Mount Howitt were equally stunning.

Our destination for the night was the famed Vallejo Gantner Hut – a short detour off the main trail. The campground around the hut (and unfortunately the hut itself) were very busy with hikers as we’d arrived in the middle of the Christmas holidays.

Exhausted after our long day, we quickly pitched our tent and crawled away for the evening.

Day 4: Vallejo Gantner Hut – King Hut

Distance: 21km
Duration: 7-9 hours

Today, the track traversed the infamous but picturesque Crosscut Saw – a narrow scramble of a hike along ridgelines offering some of the best views of the High Country. Initially it was a straightforward climb through the mist towards the trail, but before long the clouds began to lift and the difficult terrain that lay ahead became clear.

The track was challenging, with many technical rock scrambles, uneven sections of trail to navigate, and long drops down to the valleys below. Our pace was slow – covering only around 2km an hour – but this gave us more time to take in the views and safely navigate the trail.

We followed the track up and down Mount Buggery, by which time our legs were crying out for some rest. After shovelling down some sugary snacks, we began a challenging climb up Mount Speculation (reportedly one of the best places to camp) – navigating two particularly difficult rock faces.

We stopped for lunch at Camp Creek before continuing along Speculation Road for another 7km, eventually turning onto a single track down Muesli Spur. This proved to be another challenging trail, descending almost vertically towards King River in the valley below, before spitting us out onto another 4WD track. This led us to the popular King Hut where we set up camp for the night.

Day 5: King Hut – Bluff Spur Hut

Distance: 15km
Duration: 5-7 hours

We had an eventful night! An unexpected storm appeared out of nowhere and dumped so much rain over the region that our grassy campsite began to flood within a matter of minutes.

Not trusting our lightweight tent to withstand the downpour, we grabbed our gear and fled to the safety of King Hut, where we were joined by another couple also hiking the Buller Huts Trail. It was at this moment I was grateful that these old huts exist as emergency refuges from the weather.

Read more: 7 Tips for Rainy Day Hiking

The official trail route suggested taking a potentially overgrown trail, but having seen blackberries along the track the day before we opted for an alternate route up an unnamed 4WD track before rejoining the main Circuit Road. It was a sharp jump back to reality and civilization as we followed the road up to the iconic Craigs Hut (yes, the hut from The Man from Snowy River), with 4WDs zooming past us at regular intervals.

Craigs Hut proved to be a spectacular spot for lunch, and we even managed to score a spot at a picnic table. We’d initially planned to camp at Craigs Hut, but after taking one look at the crowds and being mindful that it was also New Year’s Eve, we pushed on towards Mt Stirling.

The track was long and steep in parts, but relatively straightforward compared to the technical scrambles of the previous day. Near the summit, we dropped our packs and took a short detour out to a viewpoint where we could take in the mountains and ridgelines we’d hiked over the previous five days. Had we really hiked that far?

There are several huts dotted around Mt Stirling with suitable camping areas, and we decided to head to Bluff Spur Hut so we could have a shorter walk the next morning. When we arrived, we found the small hut and camping area to be almost full with a group of locals who were setting up for New Year’s Eve. We found a space off to the side and were asleep by midnight.

Day 6: Bluff Spur Hut – Mt Buller Village

Distance: 8km
Duration: 2-3 hours

The thought of buying hot food at Mt Buller Village in the morning had us eating our breakfast and packing down our tent in record time. Rather than the suggested 4WD track, we followed a mountain bike trail which delivered us down to Howqua Gap Hut more efficiently.  Before long, we were on the final climb towards Mt Buller Village.

This ascent felt long and challenging, but with the motivation of food, it was only another hour before we found ourselves on the outskirts of the village. I was almost jogging by the time we made it back to our car at Village Square! After a quick celebratory selfie and change of clothes, we made our way to Village Bike Cafe one of the only cafes open, devoured a delicious pie, and reflected on the epic journey we’d just completed.

Tips For Hiking the Buller Huts Trail

• Check the weather carefully before attempting this hike. It’s not advisable to undertake it in winter, as much of the track will be covered in snow. In summer, you’ll need to be aware of bushfire risks and water limitations, depending on recent rainfall and emergency alerts
• Carry an extra meal. The weather in the High Country can be unpredictable and change quickly (as we discovered at King Hut), which may result in needing to take shelter over additional days
• Be familiar with backcountry hut etiquette to ensure everyone is able to use these beautiful and historic buildings
• Ensure someone knows where you’re going and your expected return date by filling in a Trip Intention Form

Read more: How To Hike in Hot Weather

FAQs Buller Huts Trail

Where is the Buller Huts Trail located?

The trail is located in the Victorian High Country, traversing the Mt Buller Alpine Resort and the Alpine National Park.

How do you get to the Buller Huts Trail?

The best way to get to the Buller Huts Trail is by car, with Mt Buller Village located 3.5 hours north-east of Melbourne.

When is the Buller Huts Trail open?

In winter the trail is generally impassable and not recommended. Late spring and early autumn are ideal times to go.

Is the Buller Huts Trail good for beginners?

No Buller Huts Trail isn’t good for beginners. The trail is Grade 5 and covers remote parts of Victoria. It’s recommended for those with previous hiking experience and confidence in navigation.

How long does it take to complete the Buller Huts Trail?

The route is 96km and takes six to eight days to complete.