While winter visitation is well underway across the six Victorian’s alpine resorts, Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV) is highlighting the role resort entry permit fees play in supporting safe, accessible and enjoyable alpine experiences during the declared snow season.
All vehicles entering Falls Creek, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham, Mt Stirling, Mt Baw Baw and Lake Mountain during the declared snow season are required to hold a valid resort entry permit. For winter 2026, day vehicle resort entry is $69 per day across all six Victorian alpine resorts, with season permit options available for frequent visitors to the resorts.
The fee is often misunderstood as a simple entry or car parking charge, when in practice it helps fund essential shared services and infrastructure that visitors rely on before they even reach the snow and then throughout their stay.
Across the Victorian alpine resorts, resort entry revenue helps support, snow clearing, complimentary village transport and ski patrol services, parking management, guest services, public spaces and shelters, water and waste management and environmental protection.
Unlike many international ski destinations that are built around established year-round towns and communities, Victoria’s alpine resorts must effectively transform into functioning alpine villages for the snow season, activating services, infrastructure and public facilities to support large numbers of visitors in a challenging mountain environment.
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The Victorian alpine resort model also differs significantly from the NSW National Parks model and is therefore not directly comparable. While both Victoria and NSW use vehicle-based entry fees to support the management of alpine environments, the underlying funding and operating arrangements are different. In NSW, private resort operators recover the costs of services such as road clearing, public safety and ski patrol through other visitor charges.
Unlike valley destinations run by councils, the resorts do not receive any recurrent funding from state taxes or other government channels. Instead, ARV is required to raise money through the operations of the resorts to cover all associated service delivery costs.
Ultimately, resort entry is one part of how Victoria’s alpine resorts prepare for and respond to the unique demands of winter, helping ensure visitors can arrive with confidence and enjoy the alpine environment that makes these destinations so special.
Visitors are encouraged to purchase resort entry permits online before travelling, check resort conditions, carry and fit wheel chains when required, and always plan for changing alpine weather. For more information and to purchase resort entry permits, visitors should go to the website of the resort they plan to visit or this webpage Victoria's Alpine Resorts.
Page last updated: 14/08/26