Midweek Snowy River Run – Tumut to Cooma - Monday 19 – Friday 23 October 2026 . Recon Trip.
Ok I know some of you want a break from the humdrum. Fancy a midweek soujourn to the NSW High Country in NSW? I am looking to go and explore...
Trip leader:
Rowland Harvey
0410151417
Overview
Five days and four nights: a Monday drive down from Sydney, then four days across the top of Kosciuszko from the Tumut side to the Snowy River and out to Cooma, home Friday. About 640 km of touring plus the Sydney legs, roughly half on dirt, with low-range sections on Long Plain Road side tracks, KNP5 and Geehi Dam Road.
Grade: medium. Any stock Jeep with all-terrain tyres and recovery points is fine in dry conditions. Free, unbooked bush camping each night, so bring everything in and take everything out.
Depart Sydney mid-morning Monday 19 October (about 4.5 hours to Tumut via the Hume). Meet at the Log Bridge Creek campground on Blowering Dam by late afternoon; convoy starts 8:00 am Tuesday from Talbingo servo.
Itinerary
|
Day
|
Route
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Distance
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Highlights
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Camp
|
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Mon 19 Oct
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Sydney → Hume Hwy → Gundagai → Tumut → Blowering Dam
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~440 km, sealed
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Depart mid-morning; fuel and supplies in Tumut; set up camp by late afternoon
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Log Bridge Creek, Blowering Dam
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Tue 20 Oct
|
Blowering → Talbingo → Yarrangobilly → Long Plain Road → Blue Waterholes
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~140 km, mostly dirt
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Blowering Dam lookout, Yarrangobilly thermal pool, Cooleman Plain, Clarke Gorge walk
|
Blue Waterholes (Cooleman Mountain)
|
|
Wed 21 Oct
|
Blue Waterholes → Kiandra → Cabramurra → KNP5 → Khancoban → Alpine Way → Geehi
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~170 km
|
Kiandra ruins, Cabramurra lookout, Tumut Pond, Olsens Lookout, Geehi Dam Road
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Geehi Flats, Swampy Plain River
|
|
Thu 22 Oct
|
Geehi → Tom Groggin → Dead Horse Gap → Thredbo → Jindabyne → Barry Way → Jacobs River
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~190 km
|
Murray River at Tom Groggin, Pilot Lookout, Wallace Craigie Lookout, Snowy River gorge
|
Jacobs River (or Pinch River, 10 km on)
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|
Fri 23 Oct
|
Jacobs River → Barry Way → Jindabyne → Dalgety → Cooma → Sydney
|
~130 km + 410 km sealed
|
Snowy River bridge at Dalgety, lunch at Buckley's Crossing Hotel
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Cooma about 1 pm; Sydney by about 6:30 pm
|
Allow a full day for each touring day: the kilometres are modest but the dirt is slow and the lookouts are worth stopping for. Anyone who cannot do Friday can leave the group at Jindabyne on Thursday afternoon.
Campsites
All four are NPWS sites, free, first-come, no bookings. None has drinking water or bins.
|
Night
|
Campsite
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Toilets
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Fires
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Water
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Notes
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|
Mon
|
Log Bridge Creek, Blowering Dam
|
Drop
|
Yes, in rings (BYO wood)
|
Reservoir, treat
|
Lakeside, 15 min from Tumut; The Pines is the fallback 5 km on
|
|
Tue
|
Blue Waterholes, Cooleman Mountain
|
Drop
|
Yes, in rings (BYO wood)
|
Cave Creek, treat
|
1,200 m elevation, cold nights; brumbies about
|
|
Wed
|
Geehi Flats
|
Drop
|
Yes, in rings (BYO wood)
|
Swampy Plain River, treat
|
Large open flats, easy river access; Old Geehi huts across the ford
|
|
Thu
|
Jacobs River
|
Drop
|
Yes, in rings (BYO wood)
|
Jacobs River, treat
|
Shaded sites beside the Snowy; Pinch River is the quieter fallback
|
Fire bans can apply from 1 October; check the RFS before lighting.
Fuel, access and road status
The winter road closures on this route ended on Friday 2 October 2026, so all planned roads are open for our dates, weather permitting.
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Item
|
Detail
|
|
Fuel
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Fill at Tumut (Mon), top up at Talbingo (Tue) and fill again at Jindabyne (Thu). No fuel between Talbingo and Khancoban. Cabramurra has no public fuel. Carry a jerry can; Tuesday to Wednesday is about 320 km between fills.
|
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Park entry
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Fee applies on the Alpine Way (Khancoban to Jindabyne). Buy online or at the Khancoban gate. Long Plain and Barry Way have no fee.
|
|
Winter closures ended
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Long Plain Road, Pocket Saddle Road, Olsens Lookout / Geehi Dam Road, Powerline Road and Boundary Road closed 9 June to 2 October 2026.
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|
Also reopened
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KNP5 Cabramurra–Khancoban Road, Olsens Lookout Road, Geehi Dam Road, Kings Cross Road.
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Baiting
|
Canid pest ejectors between Long Plain Road, Port Phillip and Broken Cart trails until 11 January 2027 — no dogs.
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Avoid
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Lobs Hole Ravine Road 4WD trail — active NPWS alert (Snowy 2.0 works).
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Traffic
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Heavy Snowy 2.0 vehicles on the Snowy Mountains Highway and Link / Tantangara roads.
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Sources: NPWS Kosciuszko National Park alerts (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au), checked 8 October 2026.
Vehicle and gear
Standard club kit, plus cold-weather gear: Blue Waterholes sits at 1,200 m and can drop below zero in October.
☐ All-terrain tyres, full-size spare, compressor and plug kit
☐ Rated recovery points, snatch strap, shackles, shovel
☐ UHF radio (club channel 18)
☐ Jerry can — 20 L minimum
☐ Water — 4 L per person per day plus cooking, and a filter or tablets
☐ Firewood (none to be collected in the park) and fire ring compliance
☐ Rubbish bags — carry everything out
☐ Warm sleeping bag (rated to −5 °C), beanie, layers, wet-weather shell
☐ Offline maps downloaded (Hema or Avenza); no mobile coverage on Long Plain, KNP5 or Barry Way
☐ PLB or satellite messenger for the trip leader
Contingencies and pre-trip checks
October snow can close KNP5 and Long Plain Road at short notice, so each day has a sealed fallback.
|
Day
|
If closed
|
Fallback
|
|
Tue
|
Long Plain Road
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Snowy Mountains Highway to Kiandra; camp Three Mile Dam
|
|
Wed
|
KNP5 Cabramurra–Khancoban
|
Elliott Way → Tooma → Khancoban, then Alpine Way as planned
|
|
Wed
|
Geehi Dam Road
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Skip Olsens Lookout; Geehi Flats is on the Alpine Way itself
|
|
Thu
|
Barry Way
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Camp Island Bend or Thredbo Diggings on the Alpine Way; Cooma via Jindabyne on Fri
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Pre-trip, Friday 16 October (trip leader):
☐ Check NPWS Kosciuszko alerts and Live Traffic NSW for closures
☐ Check BoM Snowy Mountains forecast and RFS fire danger
☐ Confirm numbers, vehicles and UHF channel with attendees
☐ Share this document and the meeting point with the group
