Explore Hobart’s bushland tracks - but keep your distance

Published on 01 May 2020

No matter where you live in Hobart, you are no more than a few kilometres from one of the city’s bushland reserves.

That’s a brisk 20+ minute walk for most of us, or a very short bike ride. It makes it easy for Hobartians to stay fit and healthy, in mind and body, by exploring these beautiful natural areas – as long as we follow social distancing rules.

And while Wellington Park has been closed in line with the Tasmanian Government's closure of national parks, the City of Hobart has kept open all of its other bushland reserves. That includes the "big five": Knocklofty Reserve, the Queens Domain, Waterworks Reserve, Bicentennial Park, and Ridgeway Park. Hobart’s reserves system also includes some very special tiny reserves, including McAulay Reserve and Lambert Park in Sandy Bay.

To help you stay safe on our bushland tracks at this time, we’ve added some suggested guidelines below.

Tips for staying safe on our tracks

Take the path less travelled: Some of our bushland tracks are proving more popular than ever, so now is a good time to explore routes that are a bit off the beaten track. Our online walking tracks map will help you find new tracks to explore.

Avoid hotspots: Many of Hobart’s bushland reserves have multiple entrances. To help us all keep safe, try to find the track entrance closest to you. Our online walking tracks map should help. And if you can walk to your favourite reserve this will help avoid large groups of people gathering at main car parks.

Explore our fire trails:  Fire trails have been built to allow access into our bushland reserves for firefighting crews and their vehicles. They are wider than normal walking tracks, and often take you through beautiful forest.

Change your schedule:  If you’re finding the tracks in your local bushland reserve are hectic at certain times, try changing when you visit them.

Keep your distance:  Some of our bushland tracks can be quite narrow in areas, so please give each other plenty of room when passing each other, and make sure you abide by current government recommendations on social distancing.

Move to the beat of your own drum: Tracks and fire trails in Hobart come in all shapes and sizes; some are lovely little strolls; others can be steep and challenging. Make sure you pick tracks that suit your level of physical fitness. Our online map has a handy guide that rates tracks from Easy to Moderate and Difficult.

Lead on, little doggy: If you're taking your pooch for a bushwalk please remember that dogs need to be on a lead and on track at all times, unless on-site signage allows them to be off lead and under effective control. Our new bush tracks for dogs online map marks out where dogs are permitted off lead within bushland areas.

Go local: If you can walk to a bushland reserve from your house why not get the exercise and explore your local bushland reserve instead of driving your car to a bushland reserve that is further away?