Over a century ago, when coaches — the kind pulled by horses — were still running between Omeo and Bright, there was a spot where they would stop and enjoy a ‘midday dinner.’ That place is now known as Dinner Plain and it’s home to a small alpine resort and about 24km of singletrack.
A bit of a hidden gem in the high country and worth visiting for the drive in alone, we caught up with Greg Owen, the Dinner Plain Community Association Member who coordinates all of the trail maintenance, to see what’s been happening in this secluded little riding spot in the Victorian Alpine.
Cruisey Alpine shredding
Starting as community-built trails in the early 2010s, the singletrack in Dinner Plain was sanctioned in 2017, and a second stage of singletrack was put in by Dirt Art and opened the following year.
Dinner Plain sits between the Alpine National Park on one side, and Cobungra Station leasehold on the other, and the tenure itself is managed by the Open Spaces wing of the Alpine Shire Council.
Not being within the border of the National Park is a big part of why the trails are here, but also in that Owen and a trio of locals can get out, clear fallen trees and maintain the trails.
With a compact network Dinner Plain isn’t overly steep or technical, these quiet trails meander through the unique alpine landscape.
Owen is the first to admit these trails aren’t overly technical or challenging, but that’s not really the point. Riding in Dinner Plain is more of the mountain meditation and enjoying your surroundings while ripping berms, than being totally gripped and testing the limits of the high-speed rebound damping circuits in your suspension.
“They’re lovely flow trails, you’re just flowing along nicely, and then you have to haul your ass out Kanga-Waala-Fox because that’s the only exit trail back out,” says Owen.
“It’s in subalpine forest pretty much the whole way with snow gums and mountain ash, it’s quite scenic and lovely. And it’s certainly not busy. It’s quite common for me to go out, in fact, more often than not, and not see anyone,” he says.
Entering from Fergs or Kenny’s, these rolling trails take you very close to the Victoria River and deposit you on the fork between Moby’s Old Dog New Tricks and the Jabba Wookie.
Jabba Wookie is the only black-rated trail in the network, but from Owen’s description, the majority of it is blue. However, there are a couple of steep rocky features you’ll have to negotiate.
This sets you up to complete the outer loop of the trails, as you’ll have to climb out via Kanga-Walla-Fox and the Appian Way — not to be confused with the one in Rome.
“I’ll do that if I want to do a flowy ride and give it a bit of a push and raise the heart rate to get out. If I’m feeling in the mood for something a bit sharper, I’ll ride Sir Jax Pump A Lot or Shut Up Ollie. They’re a little bit more challenging I would say, they’re a bit more flicky and faster, with some tossing and turning,” Owen continues.
Drink in the alpine scenery beyond the trails
Being situated right in amongst some of the most beautiful landscapes in Australia, once you have ridden the 24km of singletrack at Dinner Plain to your heart’s content, there are plenty of bigger adventures on tap.
Owen says the easiest one is to ride the 10km out and back on the Dinner Plain Track to Precipice Plain. This is a multi-use trail, so be mindful of folks on foot, but it’s a quick scenic hit to get your fill of grandeur.
“The Dinner Plain track, which runs right next to DP, is a 4WD track, and it merges with other 4WD tracks, and you can actually go all the way to Dargo. About 10km down the DP track, you can peel off onto the Victoria River Track; it will actually take you through Cobungra leasehold and then back to the Great Alpine Road between Dinner Plain and Omeo if you wanted to make it a loop,” he says.
Owen also recommended the ride out to Mount Loche. It’s another 4wD access trail, but it’s pretty darn scenic, and you’ll have views of Mount Feathertop — which is the second-highest peak in the state and by far the wildest.
For a slightly longer ride, Owen also pointed us to the Brabralung trail, which runs from Dinner Plain to The General, which is a kilometre or two below Mount Hotham Central. The 26km out and back traces the Great Alpine Road. If you have driven from Hotham to Dinner Plain, you will know just how mega scenic this is, and we can think of many better ways to spin out your legs for a few hours.
What else can you do in Dinner Plain?
Dinner Plain is a bit of an oasis on the alpine. There’s no shortage of things to do and see outdoors and places to stay, but what else is there in this tiny little village among the snow gums?
For a pub feed and beer you won’t go wrong at Hotel High Plains or the Dinner Plain Hotel and to get your caffeine and pastry fix in the morning The Hub is the spot to be.
Unfortunately, the Blizzard Brewery is no more. However, it has been replaced by Big Muster Distilling Co. Slinging moonshine, local whisky and gin, and their own beer brewed off-site — distilling locally starts in 2024. Owen tells us the meals are lovely.
That said, still beginning pretty new it’s a bit of a hidden gem, literally because there’s no signage — yet. Fortunately, Dinner Plain isn’t that big, so there aren’t too many places for it ol’ Big Muster to hide.
Also not being located in the National Park, your dog pals are welcome to stay. However Owen asked us to stress Dinner Plain is strictly leash on — though he did say there’s plans for a dog park in town.
Why come to Dinner Plain?
With only 24 km of flow trail, with a focus on scenery, realistically, most riders aren’t going to come here for a week just to ride.
However, if you’ve ever gone up to Hotham during the winter you will know that the drive up the Great Alpine Road is worth it in itself. You can make a pretty great loop hitting Bright, Falls Creek and Dinner Plain, and even swing through Omeo once it opens, experiencing everything the Victorian High Country has to offer along the way.
For more info, head over to the Ride High Country website.
Riders:
- Erika Hughese — Lead shredder and vibe coordinator
- Murray Farrell — Second in command, camera guy turned bike model
Photos:
- Sam Purdie — Carries a big backpack, pretty nifty behind the lens.