July 2025 - Knocksofty Track on Knocklofty

Fin organised this little jaunt on Knocklofty hill which is a familiar green presence for Hobart residents, providing a buffer between the city and kunanyi/Mt Wellington. Some new trails have recently been completed by the Council, connecting Knocklofty to kunanyi. We wanted to check out the new Knocksofty Track and also to make some sense of the maps that had been published. So on another lovely sunny but cool winter's day we gathered at the first picnic table near the carpark at the top of Forest Road. We were twelve: Fin, Lyn, Angie, Wayne, Gerwyn, Janet, Philip, Maryanne (and Bronte), Bob, Di, Peter and Catherine. For the first part of the walk we also enjoyed the company of new friend Annie who is an avid bird photographer.

We avoided the more challenging heights of Knocklofty summit by making a circle around the lower regions. First we meandered along the Sandy Spit track, and then moved up a little along the Mt Stuart Track which overlooks, you guessed it, the suburb of Mt Stuart, and which heads towards the Mt Stuart Lookout.

This is a very pleasant trail through open bushland, with occasional wallabies to be seen (Bronte got quite excited). Then we turned around the hill onto Woodman's Track. At the intersection with the North Slope Fire Trail we identified the connection to the new Knocksofty track. [We didn't find the signage very helpful].

Following our noses a bit, we found the junction of Knocksofty Track, designed as a gradual uphill climb for MTBs, and Yellow Hippo Track, designed as a fast downhill track for MTBs.

We took the Knocksofty Track on the left, and found it a long and steady (extreme zig zag) walk down the hill.

Bike riders were enjoying the tracks too, we passed quite a few rolling slowly up the zig zags or steaming along the downhills. Still following our noses through some intersections with fire trails, we found a large open area at Noah's Saddle, perfect for a lunch stop. This distance of about 5.5km had taken us about two hours.

The new trail continues from here to complete the connection into Wellington Park, but we were happy to turn around here and return along the same track. To shorten the trip back, we turned right at the Forest Road Fire Trail, which runs along the west flank of Knocklofty, skirting the McRobies Gully tip. This trail was another new experience for us and it was interesting to see the tip from a new perspective.

It was also quick, as we found it only took about an hour to get back to the top of Forest Road and the carpark. So this walk, including lunch and debates about directions, took us a total of about 3.5 hours.