Easy to Navigate Overnight Hike to Whites River Hut
This hike to Whites River Hut is an epic little overnight hiking loop in Kosciuszko National Park for new and experienced hikers alike. This backpacking loop is just under 20km and begins and ends at Guthega Power station, only a 30 minute drive from Jindabyne, New South Wales.
If you’re looking for something a little longer in Kosciuszko National park then I highly suggest the Jagungal Circuit Loop in the North of the park. It’s 45ish kilometeres – we did it is April 2024 over 3 days and it was awesome! See my post on hiking the Jagungal Circuit here.
Fast Facts on Hiking to Whites River Hut:
Distance: 19km
Vertical Gain: 500m (ish)
Trail Type: Loop
Start / End: Guthega Power Station
Water: Plenty of water, remember to boil and/or filter before drinking
Huts: This loop passes by 3 National Parks Huts! Remember these are only to be slept in under extreme circumstances.
Toilets: 3! There are toilets available at Disappointment Spur Hut, Whites River Hut and Horse Camp Hut (BYO Paper)
Reception: We had Telstra reception for majority of this hike, however it’s always best to have a PLB when in the backcountry.
We chose to hike this loop anti-clockwise, for a couple of reasons.
First up, to access Disappointment Spur Trail you need to cross the river just after the power station… Depending on the level of water flowing this may or may not be possible. There used to be a bridge here but it has fallen down. Sean and I hiked this loop at the beginning of October 2024 and were able to hop across with no difficulty. If the water levels were too high this could be tricky/dangerous so you’d need to head out and back along Schlink Pass Road instead (this is the trail we came back on).
The river crossing is the main reason why I suggest hiking the loop anticlockwise, so you can check water levels on the way out, rather than getting back almost to your car and finding the river too high to cross!
Secondly, I think the views are better this way, and the initial climb out of the valley is less steep. Wins all round!
AllTrails Link & Map
The loop we did was only to Whites River Hut. However you could keep heading out along this track to make it longer and check out some of the other huts in the area too! Here is the link to the hike on AllTrails, we only did the bottom loop up to number 2.
On this screen grab from AllTrails the black/green dot at the bottom is where you start the hike at Guthega Power Station. We hiked up past Disappoinment Spur Hut (number 5 on the map) to Whites River Hut (number 2 on the map) and back down via Schlink Pass Road and Horse Camp Hut (number 1 on the map).
P.s. if you don’t have an AllTrails account click here for 30% off an annual membership, making it only $2.10 per month! Full disclosure, I am an affiliate, but I had been using this app (and paying full price for it!) for years before becoming an affiliate!
Hike Overview:
We started our hike around 2pm in the afternoon and it took us around 2 hours to reach Whites River Hut. The hike up Disappointment Spur was just under 9km and about 500m in vertical gain, so theres some climbing there, along with epic views of the valley and snow capped peaks.
Once we reached the hut we quickly set up camp before having a dip in the river, it was FREEZING, cannot stress this enough, but very beautiful. We hopped into our warm gear, had an early dinner and hit bed!
SIDE NOTE: I got some new sleeping gear prior to this trip and wanted to test it out in the cold. I got a Nevegear sleeping quilt and a new Nemo sleeping pad with an r value of 8.5, both worked SO well and I am so pleased., I was toasty warm! Link to the store I bought them from here this is honestly the best priced gear I have found anywhere on the web. Full disclosure again, I am an affiliate, but I have spent thousands of dollars at this store now as they’ve honestly got everything I wanted from all different brands!
The next morning we woke up and had a cruisy breakfast before heading back down. The hike down took around 2 hours. On the way down we stopped via Horse Camp Hut which is super cute with a bright red door.
This hike was my first overnighter back after getting a stress fracture in my hip, and it was a cracker. Had such a great time, it is a great loop for beginners as the trail is very easy to follow and there are multiple toilets along the way. Get after it friends.
Happy Hiking!
