Knocklofty Reserve nature trails
Knocklofty Reserve is one of Hobart's best kept secrets. Just under 3km from the city centre it is cherished by locals for its open forest landscape and tremendous views.
Walks
Mount Stuart Loop
3.7 km loop – Moderate
From the Mt Stuart Lookout follow Mt Stuart Track, Woodmans Track and Southern Summit Fire Trail to the summit. Return down Summit and Mt Stuart tracks to the Fiona Allan Memorial Walkway.
Learn more on the Greater Hobart Trails website.
Knocklofty Summit Loop
4.1 km loop – Moderate
Starting at Forest Road car park, follow Knocklofty Main Fire Trail to Mt Stuart Track, up Summit Track and along North Slope and Southern Summit fire trails back down to Knocklofty Main Fire Trail and the car park.
Reflecting Pond Walk
2.7 km loop – Moderate
Follow Glover Track into the reserve from Poets Road, on to Knocklofty Main Fire Trail and down to Brickworks Track. Follow it around, stopping at the Reflecting Pond before returning to your starting point.
Janets Pond Walk
1.4 km loop – Easy
Start at Forest Road car park, following Knocklofty Main Fire Trail down to Janets Pond and back to the car park.
Map
Download the map(PNG, 243KB)
Getting there
Route 540 Metro buses run from Hobart to Mt Stuart and West Hobart, with stops on Forest Road, Mellifont Street and Mt Stuart Road a short walk away from Knocklofty Reserve.
What to do
This 144 hectare bushland reserve provides a refuge for native animals and plants, some of which are threatened or endangered.
Knocklofty is popular with walkers, dog walkers and bike riders. Bird watching and picnicking are other popular activities.
The Summit Loop and Reflecting Pond Walk showcase the best Knocklofty has to offer, with stunning views over Hobart and the River Derwent. Walk back in time to an era when celebrated landscape artist John Glover found inspiration in the natural setting of Knocklofty Reserve.
What to see
The frog dam is a great spot to hear frogs early in the morning or evening when it is raining. Sit down and listen carefully. Can you hear the calls of different frog species? Six of Tasmania's 11 frog species have been recorded in Knocklofty Reserve.
Listen for the 'kik-kik-kik' call in spring and summer. Swift parrots weave through the forest at great speed, feeding on the blossoms of blue gums and black gums. Critically endangered, they winter on the mainland but return to Tasmania in summer to breed. And can you find the old growth white gums, rare in a landscape that has changed dramatically over the past 200 years?
In Glover's footsteps
If you visited Knocklofty Reserve on a certain sunny day in 1831 you may have seen a solidly-built Englishman in his mid-60s lugging easel, canvas, brushes and oil paints.
The settlement at Hobart Town was nearly 30 years old and Knocklofty (then called Woodmans Hill) was accessible high ground overlooking the Derwent Estuary and Hobart.
On the day, John Glover walked from his Melville Street residence following a rough track through Salvator Rosa Glen, named after an Italian Baroque-era painter he admired.
When he reached the head of the valley he set up his easel and began the beautiful painting that now hangs in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). You can walk in the artist's footsteps as you follow the Glover Track. After almost two centuries, the features the artist captured in one of his earliest Tasmanian paintings are still evident.
Download the brochure(PDF, 1MB)