West Gippsland, Victoria
A river town under the tallest trees around.
Noojee sits in a fold of mountain ash forest where the Latrobe River runs cold and clear. Gold miners found it first, timber cutters built it, and two bushfires tried to take it back — the town just kept rebuilding around the one pub that wouldn’t burn. Ninety minutes from Melbourne, it’s still the kind of place where the trees get all the attention.
- 1900stown founded
- 102mtrestle bridge span
- 76mthe Ada Tree, roughly
- 90 minfrom Melbourne
Small town. Tall forest on its doorstep.
Timber, rail and gold all shaped the Noojee people know today, but the river and forests were here long before the mills — and they’re still what the valley runs on. One sawmill still turns logs into boards; the trout streams, the trestle bridge and the fern gullies are older than any of it, just bigger now than when the timber cutters found them. Fewer than a few hundred people call it home, under some of the tallest hardwood forest on earth. There’s a pub, a bistro, a restaurant, a café with its own general store, and a lot of country to walk off whatever you order.
Trails for every leg.
Find a table, find a room.
Meet the locals.
Postcards from the valley
Places in the valley
Diamond-pattern snow chains and Mt Baw Baw approved toboggans, on the corner of Henty Street and the Mt Baw Baw Tourist Road — the last stop before the mountain. Card payments only.
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A forest campground on the road up to Mt Baw Baw, named for the old logging checking station once sited nearby — a base camp for alpine walks and drives.
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A 100-year-old stone homestead on Kuhnell Road, Neerim North — four bedrooms, sleeps eight, fifteen minutes from Noojee through the hills. Book through Airbnb or Stayz.
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A short boardwalk loop through cool-temperate rainforest and giant tree ferns, near Neerim Junction.
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Riverside bush camping on the Latrobe River, west of Noojee — informal sites among the trees for a quiet overnight stop.
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All-day breakfast, lunch and sweet treats — plus the town general store and post office under the same roof. Open from 8am daily, meals to 3pm. Phone (03) 5628 9613.
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Follow the old timber-tramway formation up the Loch Valley.
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Melbourne’s closest downhill ski resort — about an hour up the mountain from Noojee.
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For more than 130 years, the Neerim Junction General Store has been an essential part of the local community and a vital service hub for travellers heading into Victoria's stunning Baw Baw region. The business combines fuel sales, a Licensed Post Office, retail packaged liquor sales, a full newsagency and an Elgas distributorship. Pick up maps and snacks for the trip ahead.
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Fishing, camping, snow chain, clothing and equipment hire on Henty Street — one of the best trout tackle shops going, open 7am–8pm daily. Phone 0447 849 079.
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A little brick cabin in the centre of town, sleeping up to seven — a superhost-run base for the trestle bridge, the falls and the pub, all a short walk away. Book through Airbnb.
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Step back in time at the recreated Noojee Railway Station Precinct — a replica of the original station and a 1950s J-class steam locomotive, telling the district’s timber-and-railway history.
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RELAXED
A gentle loop
Waterwheel Walk, lunch in town, an afternoon under the Trestle Bridge.
FAMILY
Catch, cook, repeat
Land a trout at the Alpine Trout Farm, then a picnic and a short walk.
WATERFALLS
Chasing white water
Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls, lunch in town, then the bridge at golden hour.
DEEP FOREST
Meet a giant
The Ada Tree, a wander through Loch Valley, and a night by the river.