After many, many years of talking about it, we finally skied at Charlotte Pass in late August 2025 during a hectic winter storm.

Travelling across for the day was quite the adventure. SkiTube train from Bullocks Flat up to Perisher, a few cheeky powder turns whilst we waited for our oversnow slot, then a snowcat ride across to the resort. We travelled on a Thursday when day-tripper packages for Charlotte Pass are inexpensive (and a buy one, get one free proposition). The incredible value packages includes a lift pass, oversnow transport and lunch.

With wind packed powder snow and full, deep cover we could ski every inch of the ski area. Fun trees, huge granite boulders, open meadows & short pistes made for an enjoyable few hours. However this is a tiny ski area on a world scale, so keep your expectations low and like us, you won’t be disappointed.

With the Kosciuszko triple chairlift closed due to wind (we suspect a common problem during storms here), we skinned up from the top of the Pulpit T-bar and beyond the top station of the chair to eventually drop in past Kangaroo Ridge cornice. Very pleasant off-piste for sure. Gentle tree skiing through the snow gums to the village completed what would be a worthy repeatable loop.

We rated ski lifts at Charlotte Pass only 1 powder paw, mainly due to only two short surface tows running during our visit. If you can’t run all your lifts on the best snow days in Australia, then they don’t deserve to be rated highly. It will be interesting to return when the new chairlift is spinning for season 2026 (and ride the old triple), to re-assess the ski lifts here.

We tried all three restaurants and bars whilst on the hill. The most affordable is the Asian food on offer at the China King Restaurant at Lucy Lodge. This is also the included lunch on the day-tripper pass. The two included courses and soft drink were excellent, and even if not part of the package, great value. Stillwell Lodge has the best combination of food (Mexican) and ambiance on offer, plus also looks to be the place to stay as it is perfectly ski-in ski-out. The old Kosciuszko Chalet Hotel may be a local icon, but its Cellar Bar was most disappointing. Hard to escape the stench of mould! We can't vouch for the other eateries at the Chalet, too put off by the bar to look (and we have a snowcat to catch!).

We will definitely come again, stay a few nights, ski the resort and skin beyond the boundaries. There is so much ski terrain to explore around Charlotte Pass, including tours up to Australia’s highest peak that it would be churlish of us to not return!

See our thoughts on the resort’s pros & cons via the Charlotte Pass overview page.