Rubicon 4WD Trip Review
Rubicon, Victoria
Location
Rubicon, Victoria
Route
Victorian High Country — a weekend trip from Melbourne
Terrain
Mountain tracks, steep climbs and descents, rocky sections, mud and river crossings
Difficulty
Moderate to difficult depending on tracks and conditions
Vehicle
Properly equipped 4WD
Would we go back?
Absolutely
Rubicon is one of those Victorian High Country areas that's perfect for a proper weekend away with the 4WDs. We've explored the area on previous trips and there's a good mix of four-wheel driving, bush camping, river crossings and High Country scenery without having to travel too far from Melbourne. There are plenty of tracks throughout the surrounding forest, so it's an area where you can set up camp and spend the next couple of days exploring.
The 4WDing
There's a good variety of four-wheel driving around Rubicon.
Depending on which tracks you choose, you can have everything from relatively straightforward forest tracks through to steep, rocky climbs and descents that require a bit more thought.
Like anywhere in the High Country, conditions make a massive difference.
In the dry, some sections can be fairly straightforward. Add a decent amount of rain and those same tracks can become slippery, muddy and considerably harder.
That's part of what we enjoy about driving up here. You can't judge a track purely by its name or difficulty rating because the High Country is constantly changing.
Rubicon River
The Rubicon River is a big part of the area and makes for some great camping and exploring.
There are crossings throughout the region, but we never assume a river crossing is safe just because we've driven it previously or someone else has recently crossed it.
Water levels can change quickly after rain.
If we're unsure, we'll get out and check the depth, current, bottom and exit before committing the vehicle.
If it's not right, we turn around.
Camping
Camping is one of the reasons Rubicon makes such a good 4WD weekend.
There are bush camping options throughout the area, and being able to set up near the river, get the fire going when permitted and then head out exploring for the day is exactly our kind of trip.
You don't necessarily need to cover hundreds of kilometres either.
Pick a base, unload the gear and spend the day exploring the surrounding tracks before coming back to camp.
What We Like About Rubicon
For us, Rubicon isn't about finding one famous obstacle or saying we've conquered a particular track.
It's a good all-round High Country trip.
You get the 4WDing, camping, river, mountains and plenty of different tracks to explore.
It's also an area that works well when we're travelling with our usual convoy. We generally head out with three 4WDs, which gives us a bit more confidence when exploring the harder sections and means we've got another vehicle available if someone needs recovering.
What we'd take
We'd go into Rubicon with the same basic recovery setup we carry for any High Country trip.
That includes rated recovery points and recovery gear, recovery boards, tyre deflators, compressor, tyre repair kit, shovel, first aid kit, tools and UHF.
We also carry enough food and water to cover us if plans change.
Mobile reception shouldn't be relied on once you're out exploring, so being reasonably self-sufficient is important.
Things to know before you go
Check current track conditions and closures before heading into Rubicon.
Seasonal road closures apply to a number of tracks throughout Victoria's forests and High Country, and temporary closures can happen because of storms, fires, flooding, fallen trees or track damage.
Weather is another big one.
A wet weekend can completely change the difficulty of the tracks, river levels and where you can safely get to.
Plan the trip around the conditions rather than assuming you'll be able to follow a route you found online.
Our verdict
Rubicon is a great Victorian High Country destination when we want a trip that's as much about camping and exploring as it is about four-wheel driving.
There's enough variety in the tracks to keep things interesting, some great places to camp and plenty more throughout the surrounding area that we still want to explore.
It's close enough for a weekend trip but there's easily enough country around Rubicon to justify staying longer.
For us, that's exactly what a good High Country 4WD trip should be.
A4GW Rating
9/10 🤙