If there is one thing that skiing each major resort in Australia taught us during 2025, it's that we were right. Hotham is far and away the best ski resort in the land of Oz for Powderhounds.

Powder days at Hotham are like nowhere else in Australia. With the village up top, everyone gets one good line down before the ski lifts open. That means the old saying ‘if you snooze you lose’ is even more relevant here. Start early or you will be well and truly behind an incredibly enthusiastic bunch of local powder hunters. But then again, another of Hotham’s strengths is its huge sidecountry, so with a little effort, the sleepers can still have some joy on a powder day. And when the powder isn’t there, the on-piste diversity is fantastic if everything is open from Blue Ribbon all the way around to Spargos.

The factors that set Hotham apart from all the others in Australia are quite simple but important.

1. The orientation of the terrain and prevailing direction of winter storms, means the lifts still run during the worst (read ‘best’) weather. Not all lifts mind you, but enough that just about all the best terrain is still accessible (or close enough with a short boot pack). All you need is Heavenly, Village & Blue Ribbon and it’s game well and truly on.
2. Terrain is comparatively steep. Steep enough so that even on the heaviest powder days, swift joyous forward momentum is still all but guaranteed.
3. More snow during the big storms.
4. Vast, easy access sidecountry.
5. You can stay at nearby Dinner Plain and let your dog (the real powder hounds) enjoy the snow too. Something impossible to do at every other Australian ski hill.

During the 2025 season we enjoyed skiing first tracks on powder days down so many of the classic Hotham lines... Brockhoff lift line, Lower Funnel, Hackers Horror, Lower Playground, Ridge, No Nonsense, Lindsay’s, One Tree, Wood Run, and loads of unnamed lines in the trees. What a great season it was. Lots of happy memories to void the disappointment of several recent seasons.

Of course Hotham is in Australia, so it does come with some caveats. These usually (and rightfully) revolve around price (it’s expensive and truly best sampled by those in possession of a season pass for their car AND the ski lifts) there are a few other important ones. Temperature. Some storms disappoint through the season and despite a given forecast, rain or mizzle may fall instead of snow. Ski lifts are getting long in the tooth and in reality will likely never be replaced by anything new. But wouldn’t it be nice for the Village chair to be an express six-seater. Skiable vertical is shortish with a maximum 400m inbounds and over 500m during a good season in the sidecountry. The vertical at Hotham is just long enough for fun turns.

We love the new (ish) multi-level car park and day room at the old Loch car park site. With its floor to ceiling glass overlooking the snow making dam, we have officially/unofficially named it ‘Lake Heavenly Lodge’. Undercover parking, close to ski-in ski-out, surprisingly great coffee from the vending machine, plenty of seating and tables, clean toilets (and even a shower), it is simply awesome for day trippers or those heading up from Dinner Plain.

Skiing in Australia isn’t necessarily great, but if you want to experience some great skiing in Australia, time it right and come to Hotham on a cold powder day. It won’t disappoint …... but then again it might! Such is life in the mountains.

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Hotham holds a special place in my heart. It is where I truly learned to love skiing and my yearly trips are always a highlight of the year. Mary's Slide is an epic run and Heavenly Valley is super fun but try and avoid slalom gully which can get really crowded with beginner skiers that shoulden't be there. The snow isn't always great but when orchard and Blue Ribbon are open the on piste trails are the best in Australia. It challenges experts like nowhere else in Australia. the snow is better than mt bullers and the terrian better than falls and buller with similar snow levels to falls creek. if your going on a trip in victoria go here
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Our family of 6 stayed at Dinner Plain which is ideal for families. Dinner Plain has mostly houses for rent and is much cheaper than staying at Mt Hotham. We tend to share a large house with another family who also have kids. Dinner Plain has snow so you can stare out the window while drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow fall. There is a small hill with a T-bar which the kids loved for night skiing.

To get to Hotham is about a 20-30 min bus trip away. Once you are at Dinner Plain you don't need the car.

The kids loved ski school.

When there is powder the skiing is amazing. It opens up tree skiing and lots of steeper runs. The crazy thing is most people stick to the groomed trails. (Hey more powder for me). Generally if you get a powder day you have 2 to 3 days to enjoy it before it goes back to Australian hard packed/icy snow.

Hotham is not as big as say Perisher but there is plenty of interesting terrain.

The chair lifts are not as impressive as Perisher but who cares.

Hotham and Dinner Plain has good cross country skiing. And it's only location in Australia that has Biathlon.

In terms of nightlife I generally eat in but there are a small number of good places to eat and drink. If you want to party then Dinner Plain is not the place for you.
If you want a special dinner with your wife/husband then the food at the Ramada is excellent. Mountain Kitchen is a lovely cafe for coffee and cake. There's a brewery. Hotel High Plains is good for dinner or just a drink.

There is a small grocery store but realistically you want to go shopping at Bright on the way to Hotham.
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I have been skiing at Hotham for about 30 years and despite the ever increasing amount border collies it's still ridiculously great fun. I had a yard sale fall that I blame on them. The powder capital of Australia still gets big dumps but some of the best fun is had on about 15cms of fresh - that's when the mountain skis the best. The mountain views are THE BEST in the country. Side and backcountry abounds and while not as peaceful as it once was (you may have to share) there is awesome skiing still to be had. The other benefit of skiing back and sidecountry is the lesser number of border collies! There's a couple of adventurous ones but not many. If you find the bc a bit busy do a bit of exploring and you shall find some solitude. I do like border collies and so should you.
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Lets get one thing straight. By world standards, skiing in Australia is expensive. There, I said it. Now get over it. If you love the snow & are a good skier or boarder, there is only one place to ski in Australia - Mt Hot Ham. Having skied more resorts than one could possibly poke a ski pole at, I can honestly say a powder day at Hotham is still as good as some of my funnest days overseas. And a day riding spring corn in the nearby slackcountry can be just as good too.

Hotham has more good days than other resorts in Oz, has better quality snow, has lifts running during the worst storms (due its terrain aspect), has relatively low crowds plus has some steeper, technical terrain including trees & a vast easy access backcountry. Oh .... and what other resort ski resort in the world has early lift opening 5 days a week (7.30am) at no additional cost!

Negatives are many at Hotham, as with all resorts in the land of Oz. Excessive cost has & will always be stated in reviews, but it's true. If you don't have a season lift & resort entry pass you are donating a fair proportion of your income to the resort during every visit. But if you are going to spend all that money on skiing in Australia, may as well go here rather than somewhere else. Skiable verticals are short - 400m at most - longer in the backcountry, but not by much. There is not a whole lot for novices & beginners. The drive up can be challenging for many. It's not too bad in reality though, but the management of the road clearing & such has seen a definite decline in the last decade. After hours, Hotham has been in a slow steady decline as well - or maybe it's just that I'm getting older! It's not a place to party all night, although two venues do cater to it. Accommodation can be super expensive. Staying in one of the many club lodges takes some of the pain away.

Unlike many resorts though, at Hotham on a powder day, at least one good fresh line is guaranteed before needing to get on a lift. The village up top, lifts below setup certainly has its advantages! The all chair lift system may be aging, but it is efficient & functions well in all weather. Lift lines are obvious in Heavenly & bottom of Village on busy days, but very rarely in evidence anywhere else.

In the end, if you love skiing & are in Australia, Hotham is the place. Follow the snow, go when the forecast is good, avoid weekends inbounds, ski during the storm & have some backcountry gear & skills for the following days.
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This place is just a mess! Chairlifts are slow, runs are short, lack of snow, food is ok but also overpriced everywhere on the mountain...all that for a day ticket price of 140$ + 50$ Resort entry fee not to mention the pricing of accomodation. Can not reccomend anyobe going there. Also the fact everyone is saying that it is the best place for advanced Skiers or Snowboarders is definately not true. Mt. Buller Summit is way more intense and way easier to access. Mt. Feathertop might be more advanced but has nothing to do with Mt. Hotham, it is just accessible with Touringskis or Splitboards and not a daytrip.
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We visited Mt Hotham in early September.

There was great snow and it was generally uncrowded. The lifts are not very fast or new, but there are quite a few lifts so that makes up for it mostly. It is very child friendly.
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Hotham is Australia's #1 Freeride/Backcountry resort. The terrain is second to none and they are know for their powder, which is hard to believe for Australia but the past three seasons have made that clear!

F&B is not the focus, terrain is. So if you want fancy meals head to Falls but if you want to shred, Hotham is the one.
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I was lucky enough to have been there with proper powder snow and it was amazing. There are lots of great tree runs, gullies and short steeps. Lots of fun.
On the flip-side my children really enjoy Mt Hotham. Ski school is great and the Big-D area is good for kids to learn on.
We have stayed at Hotham once but generally we go stay at Dinner Plain (15-20mins by bus) because it is cheaper and we can rent a house.
There is a small slope at Dinner Plain which is good for night skiing with the kids.
The cross country skiing is also very good.
The big attractions for Hotham are staying on the snow and good terrain. The negatives are it's a long drive from Sydney.
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Down in Perth, Oz from Europe and I knew there might be a chance of a weekend off, so packed my ski suit.
Hallelujah, I have the weekend off so fly Perth Melbourne, Pick up a car and I'm in Mt Hotham by Friday evening.
Up early on Saturday - wow! My expectations weren't very high so I was well impressed with what was on offer. Perfect snow conditions reasonable vertical drop and a variety of lifts - all well served with chairs.
Nothing very steep but some techie way-outs from the gullies and quite a lot of off-piste - I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Early to bed after quite a few beers with Chris & Co. (thanks fellas, really enjoyed it), so Sunday was up early and; hell, this is the place that just keeps on giving. 4-5 inches of powder overnight meant fantastic skiing conditions - unfortunately I was a bit hung-over and didn't have goggles with me (yeah, yeah - excuses) so it was mid morning before I could really enjoy myself and by that time a lot of the powder was skied out, but I still managed to find some.
All in all, it was a rare treat for me to be skiing in August and I'd def go back if opportunity arises.
Thanks Hotham!
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