Guide to Smiggin Holes New South Wales Australia

Smiggin Holes is a small resort village on Kosciuszko Road, about 30 km from Jindabyne and two kilometres before Perisher Valley. It is one of the four areas of Perisher ski resort and the one best suited to first-timers and young families, with wide, gentle slopes right beside the car park.

Known For

• Beginner and family ski slopes
• Part of Perisher, linked by lift and trail
• An unusual Scottish name

Things To Do in Smiggin Holes

The slopes here are served mostly by surface lifts and face the road, so it is easy to keep an eye on children and to come and go. Ski school, hire and lift tickets are all in the one building. A lift and trail link Smiggin Holes with Perisher Valley, and the same ticket covers both.

When the snow is thin elsewhere, the sheltered slopes at Smiggins often hold their cover well. In summer the village is quiet and nearly everything is shut, but it is a starting point for walks towards Mount Piper and the old Kosciuszko Road.

Where To Stay

The Smiggins Hotel is the main place to stay and is close to the lifts. There are also club lodges, some of which take casual guests.

Accommodation is almost entirely winter only. Jindabyne has far more choice and is half an hour away.

Eat & Drink

The hotel has a restaurant and bar in winter, and there is a cafe in the ski centre. For anything more, go on to Perisher Valley or back to Jindabyne.

History

The name comes from a Scottish word for the hollows that cattle trample around a salt lick, which then fill with water. Scottish stockmen who grazed cattle here in summer are thought to have brought it with them. Lifts were installed in the 1960s, and Smiggin Holes has been run as part of Perisher since the two merged.

Getting to Smiggin Holes

Smiggin Holes is on Kosciuszko Road, 30 km from Jindabyne. Day parking is beside the slopes. Two-wheel-drive vehicles must carry snow chains in winter. A national park entry fee applies: at the time of writing it was $29 per vehicle per day in the snow season and $17 at other times.