Monaro Highway, Australia: Length, location and major towns

The Monaro Highway is 285km long. It runs through the Australian Capital Territory, rural New South Wales and Victoria from Canberra to Cann River.

The Monaro Highway connects a rural, hilly stretch of Australia.

Few places along it are destinations in their own right, but many visitors may find themselves driving along the Monaro Highway on the way to somewhere else.

How long is the Monaro Highway?

The Monaro Highway is 285km long. It starts in Canberra and finishes in Cann River, Victoria. It leaves the Australian Capital Territory through Fyshwick, Hume and Gilmore then crosses into New South Wales.

The biggest town on the Monaro Highway is Cooma, and the Canberra to Cooma stretch is the one most people will end up driving. Cooma is the gateway to the Snowy Mountains. Anyone heading to Jindabyne or Mount Kosciuszko, plus the ski resorts at Thredbo and Perisher, is likely to pass through Cooma.

Monaro Highway towns

After Cooma, the Monaro Highway gets thoroughly rural, passing through the sleepy settlements of Nimmitabel, Steeple Flat, Ando and Bibbenluke. Next comes Bombala, a small town known for its platypus-spotting.

The drive after Bombala is surrounded by forests, and once in Victoria, the Monaro Highway goes along the western edge of the Coopracambra National Park, It goes through the small settlements of Chandlers Creek and Noorinbee before joining the Princes Highway at Cann River.

From there, you head west for Orbost, Lakes Entrance and – eventually – Melbourne. Or you go further east into East Gippsland towards Gipsy Point and Mallacoota.

More New South Wales travel

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Take the Sackville Ferry over the Hawkesbury River.

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Visit the Snowy Mountains Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma.