Australian Hiker

Closest Town

Tharwa, ACT

Starting Location

Yankee Hat trailhead car park

Finish Location

Yankee Hat trailhead car park

Best time of the year to travel

Year round

Hospital Creek Hut Walk Review

The Hospital Creek Hut Walk  starts at the same car park as the Yankee Hat Rock Art Trail,  the Gudgenby Bush Regeneration Walk, and if you really feel like it the Old Boboyan Road walk.

For many years (late 1800’s-early 1960’s) this area was a rural lease which is when much of the clearing took place. In 1966 the land was converted to a pine forest. With the declaration of the Namadagi National Park in 1984, the long term goal was the regeneration of this area back to natural bush. The removal of the pine forest was finalised in 2005 and the land is regenerating but still has a way to go.

For those of you familiar with this end of the park, the walks in this area have a very special feel about them. The blend of old rural edged by wilderness never ceases to amaze me; I could spend months just wandering the hills and valleys. In part, this is the charm of this walk.

This walk is nearly all on management trail with the exception of the turn off to the Hospital Creek Hut itself and while that spur trail is still on management road, its more overgrown grass rather than dirt trail. The road walk itself has the potential to be boring but its short enough. There are usually wallabies present along the sides of the road which outnumber the kangaroos usually dominating the more open grasslands.

At 2 km along this trail you will come to a crossroad of sorts and if you follow the signage towards the left on a grassland trail you will be taking the Gudgenby Regeneration Walk. You also have the opportunity to turn right at this point to visit Frank and Jack’s hut which is around a 1.4 km return walk.

To continue on to the Hospital Creek Hut keep walking straight ahead along Old Boboyan Road and you will come to an unmarked turn on the left hand side which will take you the last 200 metres down to the hut. At this stage, it’s a bit of a matter of trust but as you approach the hut becomes very obvious.

Take the opportunity for a break and have a good look around the hut taking in the heritage aspects. Like other huts in the high country, this is an emergency hut only so if you do get caught out in extreme weather there are plenty of places to shelter.

After your break, turn around and head back towards the car park. Remember if you signed the walkers register at the start of the walk (you should) then don’t forget to sign out.

Another great walk done and dusted!

Kangaroos are usually present near the start of the trail looking out of the large grassy plains/swamp

Toilet located at the trailhead

Interpretation signage at the walk start

Walk start which is about 20 metres up hill from the main car park. Look for the very obvious start

Trail register. Sign in and then head on the right hand spur towards your destination

First 2 km of walking

Trail markers are common

Turn sign. If you look towards the upper centre right you will just make out a trail marker. In this section they are hard to spot

Trail direction at the 2 km mark – at this point you want to continue walking along Old Boboyan Road. The turn off to the Hospital Creek Hut is approximately 300 metres further along the road. If you veer left at this point you are walking the Gudgenby Bush Regeneration walk. You can turn right here to visit Frank and Jack’s Hut which is a 1.4 km return.

Lots of wallabies on this trail

Banksia in various stages of flowering

Up the Hill. It’s not as steep as it looks

The turn off on the left is a bit of a leap of faith and not very obvious

The not so obvious road

Down the spur trail heading towards the hut

Hospital Creek Hut comes into view

Rear of Hospital Creek Hut

Water tank at the rear of the hut

Front of Hospital Creek Hut

The wood store

Inside the hut

Hut etiquette

Heading home

Back towards Yankee Hat car park

The view from the front of Hospital Creek Hut

Getting There

Map from Google maps showing directions to the Yankee Hat car park from the Tharwa Bridge.

This site is approximately 1 hours driving from the centre of Canberra. Head south along the Tuggeranong Parkway, past the Lanyon Homestead and through the village of Tharwa. The site itself is in the Namadgi National Park towards the end of Old Boboyan Road with the last section of the road being unsealed. Access to this site is relatively easy however be aware that after heavy rains you will need a 4WD for access.

Signage at the turnoff to Yankee Hat car park on the right hand side of the road. From this point on, the road is unsealed

Things to know

• There is almost no phone signal in this area
• Keep an eye out on this trail after heavy rains as sometimes the road can be closed before you get to the car park
• Make sure your car has good ground clearance

Water crossing on the way to and from the trailhead

Disclaimer

This walk was undertaken by the team from Australian Hiker

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