Marysville Township
The Marysville region in the foothills of Victoria’s High Country is an ideal getaway and short break location with things to do for everyone: families, nature lovers, adrenalin seekers, romantics, hikers, cyclists and more. The cool, fresh air from the surrounding mountains and forests will soothe your soul and clear your mind … it’s amazing to think that this charming small town is so close to Melbourne yet feels a world away from the hustle and bustle.
Tuck into a delicious meal, grab a quality coffee, relax next to the river or simply browse the little craft shops and cafes. The kids can have fun in the river, burn off some energy at the playground or by shredding the skate park while you settle back under the shade of a tree and forget all about the city…
Nature Walks
Everybody loves a good walk! Walking and exploring are well catered for in Marysville with over 10 short walks close to town. Pack a picnic, grab a trails map and set off on an outdoors adventure.
Steavenson Falls is a highlight for many, but even just strolling along the river through town is a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.
Wilderness Walks
Complementing the short nature walks are the region’s excellent longer wilderness walks. You can hike the fairly flat Tree Fern Gully Trail from the middle of town to Steavenson Falls (16km return) or take the challenging route via Keppel Lookout (15km).
The short drive to the Cathedral Range State Park opens up even more possibilities, and the views from Sugarloaf Peak aren’t something you’ll forget in a hurry. During green season the trails at Lake Mountain Resort are popular, and the 15km Three Lookouts Walk will make sure you earn your pub meal that night.
Road Cycling
Some of the sealed roads near Marysville such as the Black Spur offer incredibly scenic cycling … but that scenery also attracts plenty of cars. The same can’t be said, thankfully, for the relatively car-free road climb up to Lake Mountain, which draws in hundreds of cyclists each year to conquer its 21km of climbing.
The Lake Mountain climb is one of Ride High Country’s famous 7 Peaks ascents alongside Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo, and is often attempted over a weekend with the Baw Baw climb on day two.
Sidenote: if you’re a roadie who’s discovered gravel, there are many, many gravel roads to be explored in the area…
Mountain Biking
Marysville is an excellent destination for a mountain biking weekend away – Ride Lake Mountain Resort on day 1 and Buxton MTB park on day 2.
Lake Mountain Resort’s mountain biking trails have grown in popularity over the last couple of years and the resort is now set to feed the need of even more MTB-ers with the opening last year of the new top to bottom Cascades trail.
Professionally built by Dirt Art (who are also responsible for Maydena, Mystic in Bright and Thredbo Resort, among many others), the world-class Cascades trail is a technical 22km descent of over 1,000m designed to challenge all riders. Lake Mountain operates a one-way shuttle from Marysville to the start of the trail during green season.
To Marysville’s north-west lies the Buxton MTB Park. Its flowy, fast singletrack weaves in and out of eucalypt trees, around berms and over bridges and creeks through more than 20km of land in the Black Forest State Park.
Fishing
Marysville Lake, the Goulburn River, the Steavenson and Taggerty Rivers, Eildon Pondage … fantastic fishing options are everywhere in the Marysville region. The Marysville Lake is stocked every school holidays with ready-to-catch rainbow trout (perfect for a kids fishing adventure), and more experienced anglers venture to the creeks, streams and rivers of the region targeting rainbows and browns on the fly.
And if you end up empty-handed there’s always the Marysville Trout & Salmon Ponds to guarantee your dinner!
Snowplay and Cross Country Skiing
Every winter thousands of Victorians make the short trip “up the hill” from Marysville to Lake Mountain Resort, many for their first experience of snow. It’s the closest snow resort to Melbourne and offers tobogganing, snowplay and a great network of cross country skiing trails.
There’s a large shelter with cafe and the car park is very close to the toboggan runs, making it easy for families to pack a picnic or warm up with a hot drink. The resort is very busy on “snowy” weekends in winter, so the best way to beat the crowds is to arrive the night before and stay with us in Marysville!
Cross Country Ski Hire Marysville is at the front of All Seasons Marysville and the friendly staff there will deck you out with everything you need to enjoy a day at the snow.
