Hi there, Just wondering if Falls is a good place for families? Planning a family trip this September and wondering whether to go to Falls or Thredbo. Chose those because they both seem to have a fair amount of accommodation options and a good amount of intermediate runs. We're in Sydney so Thredbo is closer but don't mind the extra travel. Do Falls Creek do the kids ski free in September thing that Thredbo seems to do? Is there any cheap (or cheaper) accommodation options in the village like Thredbo's YHA? Don't mind staying in surrounding areas if not, but like the idea of not driving ages each day. My kids are 10 and 12 and have only been skiing a couple of times, but they're confident and have fun (wife not so much). Any advice appreciated.
its probably the best in vic (if not aust) for families, wide band of green, blues and family-friendly attitude. i would say that falls' key business driver is families.
my accom is falls is usually a tent, thats pretty cost effective! but others will know better than me
Getting an apartment for the family can be a lower cost option for on snow accommodation at Falls, particularly in September
Try snowski apartments, they got some good sized self contained apartments with 2/3 bedrooms Spent many a school holidays in there
Falls runs are better suited to a range of skiers. There's YMCA Howmans Gap camp 5km from Falls - the closest thing to YHA at Thredbo. http://howmansgap.ymca.org.au/winter/stay/ Heads up - Victorian resorts charge a daily entry fee.
falls is certainly good for families. I don't think they have free skiing for kids but there usually some good deals in September, often under the name of sunny September. not sure if these are being advertised yet. you could call Falls Creek Central Reservations (and other agents) and see what they can tell you. The other agents were mainly for apartments. FCCR handles lodges too. at any time I would expect falls accom to be cheaper than thredbo. for cheap accom, try Alpha which is a club that takes guests. Maybe Diana if you want dinner, bed and brekkie. Even places that are more expensive in peak session can have good deals in September. My relos got a good September deal a few years ago on an apartment at the country club.
ive stayed at the houses at Bogong village and they are pretty good value, 30mins drive at each end though
If you don't mind a short (15km drive) Bogong Village is a good & cheaper solution. Unfortunately there are no shops there but you're halfway between Falls and Mt Beauty. Depending on conditions, you can pop down to the hydro scheme, drive to Bright/Milawa etc if you want some time off mountain as well.
The day parking at Falls is the best in Australia and from my personal experience some of the most convenient in the world I have seem. Three day car parks each at the base of an access lift with at least one public shelter at each lift base. As long as you are reasonably early it will be a short walk to the lifts and can be more convenient with small children when staying off mountain than many of the on-mountain accommodation. From Mount Beauty it is a 45 minute drive to a day car park most of the time. Kiewa View (3 BR house) in Mount Beauty has mid-week vacancies in September Sept 9 -13 whole house $605 for the 4 nights Sept 16 - 20 whole house $605 for the 4 nights Sept 25 - 27 whole house $250 for the 2 nights information and booking www.kiewaview.com.au
Isn't it pathetic - someone uses the anonymity of the web to avoid the normal courtesy of a thank you.
Is that directed at me? My apologies, I've been busy and only just came back to this thread. Thanks very much for all the suggestions, I looked at those options and I think affordability wise might be best to get a house in Mt Beauty or Bogong Valley. Is the road very good getting up to falls? To those who choose falls over Perisher or thredbo, what is it that you prefer about Falls? or do most go there just for the sake of variety? I'd be coming from Sydney and it seems a little cheaper than Jindabyne accommodation, but not by too much.
I agree the Falls is great for families with an excellent mountain feel. I would suggest Perisher rather than Thredbo, consider an apartment in Jindabyne and add ski tube for stress-free access to the mountain.
Park your car and you don't need to go back to it for a week (or whenever) You are in a snowbound village - unless you are in Woodridge at Thredbo (and a couple of other select parts), you might as well be on Mars - it is not on-snow). You can ski to/from most accommodation Great village feel Not pretentious Drive from Sydney is just about as quick to FC as it is to Jindy No traffic lights from entering the M2/M4/M5/M7 until you get to Falls No crowds (more skiing time rather than waiting in queues) Difficulty progresses across the mountain Several food outlets spread out across the hill rather than just at the central terminal Good off-mountain options eg: Hydro Power station, Mt Beauty, Bright, Milawa are all great places to visit Other than that, nothing.....
Also, if you have someone there who only wants a half-day on snow there are numerous park-their-butt options in various locations, we found Perisher to be the pits in that regard.
a few other points day parking, at least mid week, is pretty close to the lifts doesn't suffer from too many runs tunnelling into same crazy area the south facing runs hold good cover and quality. they might not be long but they are less likely to be slush pits it really is friendlier and more relaxed
Yep FC for the win. Best village in Aus, as well as car free Multiple places to ride/hide = low density/crowds Only real ski in and out in Aus No Thredbo/Perisher this place is better attitude
While Falls may generally be good for families, I likely won't be there until 2022 at the earliest - I have a small snowboarder, and I can't stomach the cost of private lessons for him, so it's Perisher for us until he's at least 6.
Why resort to privates when the snoclub (for under 6's) is excellent - bung him in all day, he gets to play and learn, you can set and forget.
He snowboarded at Perisher this year, and enjoyed that - in snowclub he has to do skiing, which carries an additional cost for hire (he has his own snowboard). Even on the lesson/program cost alone, it was $510 for 5 days at Perisher, and $768 for a 5 of 7 at Falls Creek. Beyond that, the default hire cost from Falls for 5 days would be $139, taking it to $907. That extra cost is enough to justify the additional travel to Perisher.
Does the Perisher cost include lift pass, if so, that is a bargin! I am pretty sure Falls Creek snow club price includes lift pass.
Yup, it includes a lift pass, although I think the Discover is for 4 and under, so the lift pass is a "free" season pass, other than the $5 cost of the card. They have their own area with a magic carpet for the kids. I was hoping that with the shared ownership, prices and service offerings across both might normalise.
And what is falls creek like in early to mid july, does it usually have more or less snow than other resorts? I know every year is different, just wondering what is typical. NSW school holidays are 6th to 17th July next year and I know it's silly to plan so far ahead but I'm thinking about buying either thredbo or epic pass for the family and that period would be where we'd ideally do a big stint of skiing.
if you want early to mid July, Perisher is the safest bet. Falls is more reliable than Buller for early snow. Used to be more reliable than Hotham but it has more or less caught up. I also think Falls is more reliable than Thredbo but that's based on a late July trip in 2013 where the snow was not as good as Falls, even around the cruiser.
Going by the past 10 odd seasons at FC, the snow usually hits in a decent stormfront 2-3 days into the NSW school holidays but for the most part, the holidays have started at the end of June 28-30. This year, school holidays didn't start until July, nor did the snow - Victorian Schoolies missed out by a week or so and it was second week for NSW kids. Who knows what next year will bring? At this stage it might be two years on the trot that I miss out. But in saying that, I'm heading to Bright in Sept School Holidays so FC or Hot Ham may be on the cards for a day or two.
Well that was my next question, I'm also thinking about a trip in the next school holidays starting late September into early October for NSW, but there's very little chance of snow then, right?
reasonable chance of snow, but spring snow. north facing runs may be gone, or porridge. south facing will probably still be fun. if you are lucky there is an overnight freeze or semi-freeze. enjoy the groomers first up then move off-piste as it softens. slush bumps if they are your thing.probably quit by lunch time. bookings are normally easy to get (at least in Vic) close to the time of stay so you don't need to commit till you know the snow will last
reasonable chance of snow, but spring snow. north facing runs may be gone, or porridge. south facing will probably still be fun. if you are lucky there is an overnight freeze or semi-freeze. enjoy the groomers first up then move off-piste as it softens. slush bumps if they are your thing.probably quit by lunch time. bookings are normally easy to get (at least in Vic) close to the time of stay so you don't need to commit till you know the snow will last
I agree with @currawong, in most seasons, the north facing slopes are all but bare, Numbnuts Scramble will usually still be skiable. Over the back holds the snow quite well, so other than the top of St Elmo's South Face, Boomerang, Ruined Castle are still quite good. Sun Valley can be quite nice too. A few years ago the last week of season was a mix of clear stuff & snow (which was my downfall). I even skied the Y's on the last day of the season. Not all lodges are open as they've let staff go as soon as the numbers drop off but there's plenty of vacancies.
And where do people camp at falls? I was looking at Langford west but google says the road is closed between there and Falls Creek. I think late in september weather might be nice enough to attempt camping for a very cheap and slushy last ski trip for the season (first week of october, depending on the weather). Would there be runs still open for beginners? My kids and I are fine for harder runs but my wife is more tentative. South side, which people say could still be open are the longer runs towards the village on the trail map?
There is no car camping in winter closer than mt beauty. If you are talking about walking/skiing to a camp then you need to get out of the resort, a few km from the car at least. There are caravan parks in mt beauty and Tawonga. There is free but basic camping (drop dunnies and no hot water) at mountain creek. It's the setting off point for mt bogong This year there will almost certainly be good cover on the south facing slopes. The long runs on the village side are north facing and will not hold up so well. They will do everything they can to keep wombats ramble (2km green) open bit it may be ugly. The drovers dream chair runs are pretty friendly and should keep good cover. The next run, Highway 83, is pretty friendly too. If womats is too ugly you can download
Okay, thanks for that. Depending on weather then, I might look at Perisher to give my wife more skiing options. Camping is also nearby there and would therefore make it cheaper. Thinking Falls creek will be a good option in the nsw school holiday period next year for less crowds and beauty of the village.
are you from nsw? if nsw hols finish later than vic, come then. 2nd week of vic school hols is very busy. if snow is limited it can be crazy busy. I only talked about the easiest blues. if your wife can handle moderate blues then there are more options
She is better on green runs, could maybe do easy blue runs. Yes, from NSW. Should have made that clear. And yeah, also was planning second week of nsw holidays next year which starts after victoria returns to school.
So bought epic pass and wondering about choosing Hotham or Falls creek for skiing the week of the 12th-18th July, which is the week after the VIC school holidays. Looks like snow was a bit patchy in early July at Falls this year and comments suggested snowmaking is better at Hotham. Booking so far out, I'm just wondering which resort is the safest option to have an enjoyable family ski trip if snow isn't particularly good. My daughters and I like the blue runs (tending to more difficult blue runs, and I'd like to escape and do some black runs), while my wife likes the easiest of green runs, but I expect (or hope) will try for a little more difficulty next year. We'll be staying off the mountain. I'm booking now because even if conditions aren't great next year I will be skiing that week. I could choose Perisher, which I know is usually better for snowmaking, but accommodation prices and crowds, coupled with an interest in seeing the vic resorts, make that less appealing. Not knowing either resort, I favour Falls creek if snow conditions are equal because the runs look longer and there seems better variety for my wife, so just wondering what people's opinions are. Just also thinking I could do half at each and move between bright and tawonga, but our ski trips have been so frantic up to this point I was interested in spending more time at a single resort. Anyway, thoughts appreciated.
Just on Hotham option, if people think that a better choice: would probably stay at Omeo caravan park, rather than Bright for the more reliable road and cheaper accommodation option.
If snow is poor, the available blue (and black) runs as hotham will be longer. However hotham with not much open has a horrible problem - slalom gully, aka death gully. The long easy blue village loop goes through there but so do nearly all the heavenly valley runs. Too many people, too fast, and it bumps up. If your wife is not confident then that could terrify her. That would only leave Big D and summit/roadrunner area. The blue runs in heavenly valley are harder than average blues, especially when icy. So in a poor July, for you, maybe hotham for snowmaking on heavenly valley, but for your wife, falls. If you decide on hotham, driving up from omeo will be much easier than driving from harrietville. Also much less chance of being closed during the snow storms that you will be hoping for.
Hi! I am "Mirou" ... and honestly I do not know why all this should be addressed to me .... a reminder : I am now an aged person and am back in my birth counrry Belgium, yes I lived year long in Falls Creek with Bob Hymans (my former husband) and our children, that was in the 50th and in those days people were only discovering skiing and snow !!!! the actual Falls Creek I do not know. Sure I do enjoy hearing (reading!) news from Falls Creek ......
Okay, I think just Falls then, kids and I will have a fun time no matter what, but really want wife to get good opportunity. Maybe Hotham later in the year if we get a weekend and my wife improves. Thanks Currawong.
@Richard or @Ian D is it possible for you to see if mirou has some sort of notification set, perhaps everything in Falls Creek forum? can you turn it off for her or give explicit instructions on how to?
Noah - just one more reason to head to VIC that week - Sydney interschools in on at Perisher that week so if the whole resort is not open it turns into a absolute bunfight (I have a son who loves participating in interschools racing - but in Northern region - but if I did not have to be at the resort when it was on I would definitely choose elsewhere)
