Behind the wheel there's a chance to see the Alps from a new perspective.

Boboyan Road
For a scenic drive from Canberra through Namadgi NP, the 76 km Boboyan Road, unsealed in parts, links Tharwa, in the southern ACT, to Adaminaby, NSW, near Lake Eucumbene. Side trips lead to the former space tracking stations Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley. Further south, a detour to Yankee Hat rock-art site provides a glimpse of Aboriginal life in the mountains. From Shannons Flat, the route continues over the Murrumbidgee River to Adaminaby, the gateway to Lake Eucumbene.


Snowy Mountains Highway
From Cooma, the Snowy Mountains Highway leads 179 km north-west to Tumut through Adaminaby, providing access to northern Kosciuszko NP destinations such as Currango Homestead, Selwyn Snowfields, the historic goldrush town of Kiandra, Long Plain, the Blue Waterholes, Coolamine Homestead, and Yarrangobilly Caves.


Kosciuszko Alpine Way
Cooma, the main town on the Monaro plains, is the eastern entry point of the Kosciuszko Alpine Way, the grand 200 km high-country drive to Corryong, Victoria. The route first crosses the Monaro then climbs towards Kosciuszko National Park just past Jindabyne. Here you can take a 41 km side trip on the Kosciuszko Road via Perisher Valley to Charlotte Pass – gateway to walks on the Kosciuszko Main Range and upper Snowy River valley – or continue to Thredbo in the shadow of the Rams Head Range. The route loops south and west of Australia’s highest peaks – Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Townsend – providing stunning views from Olsens and Scammels Ridge lookouts and passing features of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. Just west of Khancoban the road crosses the Murray River, which at this altitude is a clean, fast-flowing river – and near Corryong, joins the great foothills drive of the Alps, the Snowy Valleys Way.


Snowy Valleys Way
Stretching 356 km from Gundagai, NSW, to Wangaratta, Victoria, the Snowy Valleys Way runs west of the Great Dividing Range, within sight of the Australian Alps, as a slower and infinitely more scenic alternative to the Hume Highway. From Gundagai, the route first follows the “T-towns tour” through Tumut, Tumbarumba (from which the Elliot Way runs east to Cabramurra, Australia’s highest town), Tooma, Towong, and Tallangatta, before following back roads through “Ned Kelly country” and the heritage towns of Yackandandah and Beechworth, en route to Wangaratta.


Barry Way
For those who don’t mind a bit of dirt road and solitude, the winding Barry Way roughly follows the Snowy River valley 170 km from Jindabyne to Buchan, Victoria, revealing a totally different side of the Alps. Australia’s deepest river gorge displays the power of the Snowy River. Take the spectacular side trip to McKillop Bridge in Snowy River National Park for some peaceful camping – just make sure you’re well stocked as there are few people and even fewer service stations along this route.


Great Alpine Road
Icon drive of the Victorian high country, the Great Alpine Road stretches 308 km between Wangaratta and Bairnsdale, following the picturesque Ovens River (to the west) and Tambo River (east) valleys, and crossing the heart of Alpine National Park. The route’s highest point, a lookout near Mt Hotham, provides wide vistas featuring the Dargo High Plains and the peaks of Mt Buffalo, Mt Feathertop and Mt Bogong. The route’s side trips are many and varied including the Gold Discovery Drive through Beechworth and the Alpine Discovery Drive to Mt Beauty, Bogong, Falls Creek and across the Bogong High Plains (this section is closed in winter).


Around Melbourne
Closer to Melbourne, mountain drives centred on Mansfield include the famously winding 28 km route from Merrijig to Mt Buller and the scenic 100 km mosey from Mansfield to Eildon, which runs east of Lake Eildon through Howqua. The unsealed road south of Jamieson through Gaffneys Creek and Matlock crosses beautiful and little-travelled country on the 125 km drive to Marysville. On the southern edge of the Victorian Alps, the Walhalla and Mountain Rivers region, features quiet roads and the Alps’ earliest gold town, the picturesque Walhalla Historic Township (180 km from Melbourne) hidden in a deep valley and also the start/end point of the Australian Alps Walking Track. Nearby are the ski areas of Mt Baw Baw and Mt St Gwinear. The towns of Noojee, Licola and Dargo also offer easy access to the Alps and you can travel cross-country between them.