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Granite outcrops and eucalypts on Mount Buffalo, above blue ranges fading into haze
Richard Lin / Unsplash

Buffalo Stampede aid station map

Four trail races out of Bright in March, from an evening 10 km up Mystic to a 100 km that goes to the Horn on Mount Buffalo and comes back.

March 19 to 21, 2027 Bright, Victoria

The Buffalo Stampede is a weekend of trail races in Bright, in Victoria's high country, on March 19 to 21, 2027. It was first run in 2014 as the Buffalo Stampede Ultra SkyMarathon, billed as Australia's first skyrace, and the 2026 festival expected close to 3,500 runners.

Every race except the marathon starts and finishes at the Pavilion in Pioneer Park. The 100 km climbs out of town over Mystic and Clearspot, crosses the Buckland Valley, goes up the Big Walk onto the Mount Buffalo plateau and out to the Horn, then retraces much of it. The 42 km runs one way, from the Mount Buffalo Chalet down to Bright. The 20 km and 10 km stay on the steep hills above town. The map draws the 2026 courses from the organizer's own routes and pins each aid station with its distance from the 2026 event guide. The 2027 courses aren't out yet.

Every race requires the course file on your phone or watch for offline use. The organizer says Telstra has the best coverage around Bright, and the 100 km trackers only report when you're within 4G range. Download the map before you go: without a signal, GPS still shows where you are and where the aid stations are.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Buffalo Stampede Festival. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Buffalo Stampede course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Buffalo Stampede courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
100 km100 km (62.1 mi)4,800 m (15,748 ft)Sat, Mar 20, 6:00 AM28 h
SkyMarathon 42 km42 km (26.1 mi)1,600 m (5,249 ft)Sun, Mar 21, 7:20 AM10 h 30 min
SkyRun 20 km20 km (12.4 mi)1,400 m (4,593 ft)Sat, Mar 20, 7:30 AM7 h
Twilight 10 km10 km (6.2 mi)540 m (1,772 ft)Fri, Mar 19, 6:00 PM3 h

Buffalo Stampede 100 km

Bright to the Horn, the top of Mount Buffalo, and back, with Clearspot on the way out and again on the way home.

Distance
100 km (62.1 mi)
Climbing
4,800 m (15,748 ft)
Start
Sat, Mar 20, 6:00 AM
Time limit
28 h

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

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You start at 6 AM with a headtorch, and the climbing starts at 1.7 km: Emily's Spur gains 440 m in a mile to the top of Mystic. Water Reserve Track rolls on up to Clearspot, then Snake Ridge drops to 3 km of road across the Buckland Valley. Keatings Ridge takes you into the national park and down to Eurobin Creek, where the Big Walk climbs over 1,000 m in 10 km to the Chalet. On the plateau you pass Lake Catani, Long Plain and the Cathedral, then go out and back from Cresta Valley to the Horn at about halfway, partly on a road with cars. The way home is down the Big Walk and back over Keatings Ridge.

Coming back, the leg from Buckland Valley to Clearspot is 7.5 km with 800 m of climbing, most of it up Dingo Ridge, so the organizer tells you to load up on food and water before you leave Buckland. After Clearspot, the 500 m descent of Middle Track is loose and rocky. Pacers can join at the second Chalet stop, 65 km in, and drop bags wait at Eurobin Creek and Cresta Valley. George Knight set the men's record of 9:52:01 in 2026; Eszter Csillag's 10:51:25 from 2025 is the women's.

aid stations

kmWhereCutoff
0Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish)
9Clearspot CrewSat 8:30
18.3Buckland Valley CrewSat 10:30
26.5Eurobin Creek Crew, Drop bagSat 12:10
36.9Mount Buffalo Chalet (42 km start) CrewSat 15:10
46.2Cresta Valley Crew, Drop bagSat 17:30
53.4Cresta Valley Crew, Drop bagSat 19:30
65.4Mount Buffalo Chalet (42 km start) Crew, PacersSat 22:50
75.8Eurobin Creek Crew, Drop bagSun 1:40
84Buckland Valley CrewSun 4:40
91.6Clearspot CrewSun 7:30
100.1Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish) Sun 10:00
A granite tor with a perched boulder on a forested ridge of Mount Buffalo
Richard Lin / Unsplash

Buffalo Stampede SkyMarathon 42 km

One way from the Mount Buffalo Chalet down to Bright, with 1,000 m more descent than climbing.

Distance
42 km (26.1 mi)
Climbing
1,600 m (5,249 ft)
Start
Sun, Mar 21, 7:20 AM
Time limit
10 h 30 min

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

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The marathon starts at the Chalet in three waves, 7:20, 7:25 and 7:30, and the organizer says about 60% of runners pick the middle one. A short loop on the Monolith and Underground River tracks brings you back to the Chalet at 7.7 km, then the Big Walk drops 1,000 m in 10 km to Eurobin Creek, with technical trail around Mackey's Lookout. Keatings Ridge and the road through the Buckland Valley follow.

Then comes Dingo Ridge, 757 m of climbing in 6.3 km to Clearspot, and it can get very hot. On a hot day the organizer says to take at least 2 liters from Buckland Valley. A water point about a third of the way up (28.9 km on the 2026 chart) refills 500 ml. After Clearspot you descend Middle Track to a basic aid station at Bakers Gully, 3.6 km from the finish.

aid stations

kmWhereCutoff
0Mount Buffalo Chalet (42 km start)
7.7Mount Buffalo Chalet (42 km start) Sun 9:20
18.1Eurobin Creek CrewSun 11:25
26.3Buckland Valley CrewSun 13:00
33.9Clearspot CrewSun 15:30
38.8Bakers Gully Crew
42.4Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish) Sun 18:00
Morning fog filling the valleys below Mount Buffalo, with granite in the foreground
Richard Lin / Unsplash

Buffalo Stampede SkyRun 20 km

Mystic and Clearspot, the two steep summits above Bright, in one loop from town.

Distance
20 km (12.4 mi)
Climbing
1,400 m (4,593 ft)
Start
Sat, Mar 20, 7:30 AM
Time limit
7 h

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

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The 20 km goes up Emily's Spur to Mystic, with an aid station just past the paragliding launch, then follows Water Reserve Track and drops down the rocky Middle Track to Bakers Gully. After Breen Road comes the climb to Clearspot, which the organizer warns "will break many souls". From the top it's a long descent straight back to town, with a detour through Bakers Gully to stay off the busy roads.

There are three waves, from 7:30 to 7:40. The Mystic aid station is closed to crews; Bakers Gully and Clearspot are open to them, though parking at both is tight.

aid stations

kmWhereCutoff
0Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish)
3.6Mystic Sat 9:00
8.3Bakers Gully CrewSat 10:40
12.9Clearspot CrewSat 12:40
19.8Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish) Sat 14:40
Bright in autumn color below steep forested hills
Richard Lin / Unsplash

Buffalo Stampede Twilight 10 km

Friday evening: straight up Emily's Spur to Mystic, then down the mountain bike trails.

Distance
10 km (6.2 mi)
Climbing
540 m (1,772 ft)
Start
Fri, Mar 19, 6:00 PM
Time limit
3 h

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The 10 km starts at 6 PM on Friday. After 2 km on the park's roads and the shuttle road, Emily's Spur climbs 440 m in just over a mile to the top of Mystic, and the only aid station sits behind the paragliding launch. You have 1.5 hours to leave it.

The way down follows the mountain bike trails: Techno Prisoners, the Brown Road shelf track, then the rocky Boogaloo into Mystic Downhill. The organizer expects much of the field to do that last part in the dark, and the 10 km gear list asks for one working torch. There's no crew access on the course.

Entry and fees

Entries are on Race Roster, at three prices: early entry closed on August 20, 2026, standard runs to February 25, 2027, and late entry runs to race day. Standard entry is $490 for the 100 km, $320 for the 42 km, $180 for the 20 km and $90 for the 10 km. The Ultra Slam is $750, the Grand Slam $480, and a four-person 100 km team relay $520 a team. Every 100 km runner and relay team gets a GPS tracker in 2027.

The 100 km has no qualifying race. The organizer calls it a good first 100k, but a hard one, with lots of technical trail and steep climbs and descents, and asks you to come properly trained. You must be at least 18 on race day for the 42 km and longer, 16 for the 20 km and 13 for the 10 km.

Getting to Bright

Bright is about 3.5 hours' drive from Melbourne and about 7 hours from Sydney. Albury airport, with daily flights, is 1.5 hours away, and V/Line runs daily buses from Wangaratta station, most of which connect with trains to Melbourne. The event village is at Pioneer Park Recreation Reserve, 64/72 Coronation Ave, with plenty of parking.

Bib collection starts on Thursday at the Bright Brewery. For the marathon, the shuttle to the Chalet leaves the event village at 5:20 AM sharp on Sunday and is included in your entry. If you'd rather drive, park at Dingo Dell and take the shuttle from there between 6:15 and 7:00. Nobody can be dropped at the Chalet: the road is closed.

Crewing and pacers

A stone and timber lookout shelter on granite at Mount Buffalo
Richard Lin / Unsplash

Crews can help runners only at named spots, and you'll need a car to reach them. In the 100 km that's every aid station: Clearspot, Buckland Valley, Eurobin Creek, the Chalet and Cresta Valley. Buckland Valley is the easy one: park on Harris Lane. For the Chalet, crews park at Dingo Dell and ride the shuttle bus; anyone who parks in the Gorge car park instead doesn't get a crew token and can't crew there. Clearspot is at least 30 minutes' drive from Bright, and the organizer says to follow its written directions, not Google Maps. In the marathon, crews can't help at the Chalet, and the 10 km has no crewing at all.

Pacers are free in the 100 km, from the second pass of the Chalet at 65 km to the finish, one at a time. They have to register, carry the full mandatory gear and get themselves to the Chalet.

Weather and gear

A balanced granite boulder in dry grass under a blue sky on Mount Buffalo
Singh Harjiwan / Unsplash

March in Bright averages a high of 26.3°C and a low of 8.9°C. The plateau is much cooler: the old weather station at the Chalet, at 1,350 m, recorded an average March high of 16.7°C. Heat is the problem on the low ridges, especially Dingo Ridge, and the aid stations stock lots of ice when it's forecast hot. The organizer recommends an ice bandana. After dark on the plateau you'll want the warm layers.

Gear is checked at registration for the 100 km, the slams, the relay and the 42 km, with spot checks on course and at the finish. The 100 km list includes 2 liters of water capacity, a hooded waterproof jacket, a thermal top, a warm hat and gloves, a space blanket, a snake bite bandage and two torches. Watch for cyclists on Mount Buffalo Tourist Road: they come down fast and quietly.

Buffalo Stampede aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Pioneer Park Pavilion (start and finish)

    -36.73749, 146.97032

  • Mystic

    -36.75844, 146.96589

  • Clearspot

    1,004 m (3,294 ft)

    -36.75798, 146.93570

  • Bakers Gully

    -36.75554, 146.95506

  • Buckland Valley

    -36.72519, 146.88262

  • Eurobin Creek

    -36.70065, 146.85206

  • Mount Buffalo Chalet (42 km start)

    1,350 m (4,429 ft)

    -36.72223, 146.81973

  • Cresta Valley

    -36.76403, 146.78530

  • The Horn (100 km turnaround)

    1,723 m (5,653 ft)

    -36.77635, 146.76744

Buffalo Stampede FAQ

When is the Buffalo Stampede 2027?

March 19 to 21, 2027. The Twilight 10 km is on Friday at 6 PM, the 100 km and 20 km on Saturday at 6 AM and 7:30 AM, and the 42 km on Sunday from 7:20 AM.

Is the Buffalo Stampede 100 km a Western States qualifier?

Yes. Finishing the 2027 100 km within 23 hours qualifies you for the Western States 2028 lottery. The 100 km, 42 km and 20 km also earn UTMB Index points, and all four races are on ITRA.

What are the Grand Slam and the Ultra Slam?

Three races on three days. The Grand Slam is the 10 km, 20 km and 42 km, 72 km in all. The Ultra Slam is the 10 km, 100 km and 42 km, 152 km. Each race keeps its own cutoffs, but Ultra Slam runners also have to finish the 100 km in time for the 5:20 AM marathon shuttle on Sunday; miss it and you keep your 100 km finish but get a DNF in the Slam.

Can you have a pacer at the Buffalo Stampede?

In the 100 km only, from the second time through the Mount Buffalo Chalet at 65 km. Pacing is free, but the pacer has to register and carry all the mandatory gear.

Are poles allowed?

Yes, in every race. The organizer asks you not to use them early in the race or where the trail is crowded.

Where are the drop bags in the 100 km?

At Eurobin Creek and Cresta Valley, both of which you pass twice. Pack your gear in an insulated, zipped bag if you can, and label it with the tags from registration.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.