Why this ride
A alpine grand route from Wangaratta, Victoria to Bairnsdale, Victoria, via Bright. Key character: high country; mountain pass; valleys. Surface: paved.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Great Alpine Road
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 307 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 35
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wangaratta
Wangaratta stands where the Ovens and King rivers meet, on the flat plains at the foot of Victoria's north-eastern ranges, and it is the gate to the high country. The Great Alpine Road starts here, and for many riders, the day begins with a coffee on the main street before the long climb into the hills. The town has about eighteen thousand people, a wide central square, and a mix of old brick buildings and newer shops.
Read the complete Wangaratta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Great Alpine Road point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Great Alpine Road point 2.
2. Bright
Bright is a town where autumn is a seasonal event. In the Ovens Valley, in northeast Victoria, rows of maples, poplars and oaks that settlers planted turn blazing orange and yellow in late April and May, and the whole valley fills with visitors with cameras. Out of season Bright is a peaceful country town of around two and a half thousand people, with cafes, a brewery, and the Ovens River running through the middle of a park.
Read the complete Bright write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Great Alpine Road point 2 comes up 57 km in. Next is Great Alpine Road point 3.
3. Near Hotham Heights
Planning note
113 km in you reach Great Alpine Road point 3. Next is Great Alpine Road point 4.
4. Great Alpine Road point 4
Omeo is a small town on the far side of the Alps, in a basin of dry, open hills that feels like another country after the high forest. It grew up in the gold rush of the 1850s, when thousands of miners worked the creeks, and its heritage buildings, including a courthouse, a hotel and a row of old shopfronts, reflect those boom years. Omeo's name comes from an Aboriginal word, said to mean mountains or hills, and the town has been a meeting place between the alpine country and the lowlands for much longer than the gold rush.
Read the complete Great Alpine Road point 4 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Great Alpine Road point 4, late in the day. Next is Great Alpine Road point 5.
5. Bairnsdale
Bairnsdale is the gateway to East Gippsland, a handy market town of about eight thousand people on the Mitchell River flats, and it marks one end of the Great Alpine Road. That road climbs about three hundred kilometres from here to Wangaratta, crossing the Victorian Alps by way of Omeo and Mount Hotham, and in places it is spectacular. At Bairnsdale itself, the scenery is flat and the pace relaxed, so it makes sense as a place to refuel and rest before or after the mountains.
Read the complete Bairnsdale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Great Alpine Road point 5 sits at 307 km, late in the day.