Beechworth/Yackandandah/Mt Stanley etc - 4WD Trip

20 Jul 2017

Anyone been up there and can recommend some solid hard tracks? Already know of Long Tom and Infinity.

20 Jul 2017

Winston, not sure if you are a member of 4x4 Earth but I went through their track list today and there was a number of tracks listed in the area you are going.

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20 Jul 2017

Hi Winston,

We live in the area and there really are some great tracks around here. The area you want to play in is mostly through the pine and native forests between Yack and Stanley. Long Tom is diabolical in winter. Apart from the main tracks like LT and around Stringer Ridge the rest can be pretty changeable depending mostly on how often they're used during winter. Most tracks marked 4WD only will be pretty challenging in the wet going up, mostly with slick mud and deep ruts (eg Rocky Link Track between Rocky Point rd and Runnells rd - straightforward going down, challenging going up as it's a steep climb with greasy mud, ruts, and an awkward length for vehicle spacing). Jeep Track going down from the summit of Mt Stanley to Wally's Track is known to be challenging in the wet. Most go in the down direction but it is possible to go up from the Myrtleford-Stanley Road if well prepared. I don't know about its condition this season so will ask around. On the Myrtleford side of Beechworth there is Rifle Range Track, often used in the summer by CFA vehicles for training, which goes straight up from the Murmungee Basin up to the top of Flagstaff Range. Lovely views up there!

Back in the Yack/Stanley forests there are plenty of unnamed tracks that just appear on the side of main tracks and roads. They're not marked, just go straight up at jaunty angles. Mostly clay based with some rock. Sometimes they're popular and pretty clear, other times they've gotten overgrown because they haven't been used for a couple of years. Each season particular parts get popular with 4wders and get more challenging due to usage. I will ask around the local lads for the tracks that are most challenging this season and post back.

If you want to check out reasonably reliable topos that use the road names actually marked, try the maps on emergency.vic.gov.au

Winston (Winston_FJ)

21 Jul 2017

() wrote:

Hi Winston,

Thanks Meryl that's bloody awesome information. Appreciate you taking the time to be so thorough.

Susan Julian Crow (Sujuhahe)

21 Jul 2017

() wrote:

Hi Winston,

Great information, especially the tip to use maps on www.emergency.vic.gov.au I will remember this for future trip planning

Michael (Mickm91)

21 Jul 2017

You have long tom and long tom break, break is the hard one did long long tom track other week was good challenge

Winston (Winston_FJ)

21 Jul 2017

Michael (Mickm91) wrote:

You have long tom and long tom break, break is the hard one did long long tom track other week was good challenge

Is Long Tom Break the one that runs up from Number 1 Link? A few hundred metres north of the bottom of Infinity/Tom Thumb?

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26 Jul 2017

Winston (Winston_FJ) wrote:

Is Long Tom Break the one that runs up from Number 1 Link? A few hundred metres north of the bottom of Infinity/Tom Thumb?

Yes, you want Long Tom Break. Long Tom (as locals just call it) basically has two parts. The lower part runs from Number 1 Link Rd, down the gully to the creek (this section is easy, just an access road), and then it gets more difficult going up. We were out there on the weekend but we didn't drive the track. The lower section has some gnarly looking wash outs. Where it meets Willow Tree Track there is an awkward right turn you need to make to get up onto the flat that is affected by an adjacent track that is washing down from up the hill. The steeper part is the upper section, above Willow Tree Track. The lower part of that section is pretty chopped up at the moment, with slippery mud and loose scree, from where most people make their attempts. We saw a young bloke in a Landcruiser ute (75 series?) that made it to the top, but he had to bollock up a pair of Max Tracks and use his winch to get past the chopped up part of the Track. Once he got past that he was gold as not many others have managed to get up there so the track is reasonably stable (if a bit slippery). I'd recommend piling people into a vehicle or two and doing some recon by going up the Northern Fire Trail, linking on to Willow Tree Track, and coming in at the middle part to decide if you want to try both sections or just the upper or lower section. There's room for a couple of vehicles in that middle flat part before you'll be queuing down Willow Tree. More than that and you'll find turning around gets tricky for any who decide not to make the attempt. On weekends all the tracks in that area are very popular, especially with trail bike riders, so you'll probably get an audience! I've included a bit of a mud map for illustrative purposes. Stringer Ridge Road is also popular and may offer some challenge depending on the line you take.

Winston (Winston_FJ)

28 Jul 2017

() wrote:

You're a legend! Thanks.
Have also heard that there is a more intense track through the pines immediately south of the upper section you've marked.

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06 Sep 2020

Just posting back in case anyone found this thread doing a search. Long Tom is now permanently closed - both the lower and upper sections. It was considered too dangerous with vehicle rollovers. Willow Tree Road has been upgraded to give access all the way through from Number One Rd to the Northern Firetrail, so you can drive through to the middle section of the old Long Tom track to sight see at what people used to try and do.