1-3 days on the Mt Somers Track – one way hike

A great first multi day hike on the Mount Somers Track, visiting Pinnacles Hut and Woolshed Creek Hut.

In this section I will break down the whole walk so you an figure out if this is the right hike for you.

• Total hike length: 17.1km
• Pinnacles carpark to Pinnacles Hut: About 3 hours
• Pinnacles Hut to Woolshed Creek Hut: 2-3 hours
• Woolshed Creek Hut to Woolshed Creek Carpark: 1 hour, 45 minutes

If you are looking for a good introductory multi day tramp for families or beginner hikes then the Mt Somers Track is a good place to start.  The track isn’t too difficult compared to many multi day hikes and the short distances between each hut means this is a very light 3 day 2 night experience, or just have one longer day and stay at one hut on the way.

Woolshed Creek Hut is the most popular hut on the Mt Somers Track so it does book up quite quickly on weekends and school holidays but it’s totally doable to skip this hut on the way in or out.

Transport on the Mt Somers walk is the hardest part as you’ll need a vehicle at both ends of the track, or you can do the full loop that comes back along the South Face.  This is the only section of the Mt Somers Track that we haven’t done and would make for a very long last day.

Day Hike on the Mt Somers Track: Mt Somers Track Review 

We are local to the region and took on the Mount Somers Track with our almost 6 year old, 8 and 10 year old.  We decided to do this as a day hike due to time restraints and to make our gear carry a bit lighter.

We dropped one vehicle at the Woolshed Creek car park then headed back to the Sharplin Falls carpark (Pinnacles car park) to start our hike.  We chose to hike in this direction as the walk into Pinnacles Hut is the hardest section and quite undulating so I wanted to do this while we had the energy and concentration.  I also knew that it was likely we would walk out in the dark and the Woolshed Creek miners trail is far less technical so an easier walk with head torches.  The walk is majoritively downhill, making for an easier finish, compared to Pinnacles which is more undulating so still requires more physical effort.  Still happy with this decision and would recommend it this way.

• Start time: 830am
• Finish time: 645pm

I always recommend starting early in the day when hiking with kids so it was a fresh start on our autumn walk but we quickly removed layers with the uphill climb from Pinnacles carpark.

Pinnacles Carpark to Pinnacles Hut (3 hours)

• Distance according to my Garmin: 6.42km
• Total time for our family: 2 hours 48 minutes with a short stop at Dukes Knob

This trail starts with a pretty steep climb up the Dukes Knob and is the only big view you’ll see on this section of the track until you are close to the hut.  It’s a bushy climb and can be muddy at times.  I’d definitely recommend boots here as there are lots of tree roots to navigate and a few muddy swampy sections you can’t really avoid.

You will then head down to the river and follow this undulating trail as it sidles the river.  Lots of little ups and downs here and you’ll eventually find a bridge called Halfway bridge.  

You’ll head along otherside of the river and eventually head back up the hill towards the hut.  When you come out of the bush into a clearing you’ll have a good view over the bush expanse and you’ll be able to see the hut which is only 15 minutes or so from here.

I found the trail between Dukes Knob and the view of the hut to be quite long and there were times when I was wondering if we would ever get there.  But we did and it took us just under 3 hours which is what DOC signposted it for.

About Pinnacles Hut

Pinnacles Hut sleeps up to 19 people and you can book this online on the Department of Conservation website.  Since its only a “short walk” to the hut, it can get booked out so try and plan ahead if you can. 

There are also campsites at Pinnacles Hut that are quite private and sheltered so this could be another option if the huts are booked out or you just don’t want to hang out with snorers.

The one downside of Pinnacles Hut is that this is a one roomed hut, so the bunk beds are in the main area where you eat.  For kids, it can be hard to get to sleep earlier if everyone is awake chatting and playing cards etc.  Not a dealbreaker necessarily but it can make this a little tough.  Woolshed Creek Hut on the other hand has two separate bedrooms.

Facilities at Pinnacles Hut

• 19 bunk beds and mattresses provided
• Stainless steel benches for cooking
• Fire
• Long drop toilet outside

You will need to bring your own gas and cooking supplies as well as matches to light the fire.  You will obviously need all your overnight gear such as sleeping bags etc to stay the night.  We have a great tramping gear guide here as well as our own Backyard Travel Family recommendations for gear here

On our one day hike on the Mt Somers Track, we just stayed here for lunch then continued on.

Pinnacles Hut to Woolshed Creek Hut (2 ½ to 3 ½ hours)

• Distance according to my Garmin: 5.85km
• Walking time for our family: 3 hours, 30 minutes compared to the signposted 2 hours 30 minutes

I really enjoyed this section of the hike.  Partly because I’d never done it before and was looking forward to something new.  I just loved the big open expanse of land and I bet it would look really pretty with snow on the mountains.

The hike from Pinnacles Hut starts with a steep wee climb out of the hut, but don’t worry as it only last 20 minutes or so and then the gradient tapers off to a much more gentle climb.  Think of this section as a long gradual uphill, then a long downhill.

It’s wide and open and you could just relax and enjoy this section, rather than having to focus too much on your foot placement like the previous section.  There’s a little climb up to Woolshed Creek Hut from the stream so when you get here, know you haven’t got too far to go.

This section said 2 hours 30 minutes on the DOC sign, but our 5 year old was feeling a little tired and was dragging her feet for this section.  In the end it took us almost 3 hours, 30 minutes.

We had an early dinner at the campsite area here around 430pm as we knew it would be getting dark around 6pm and we needed some good fuel for the final push back to the carpark.

Woolshed Creek Hut

Woolshed Creek is a pretty fancy hut by backcountry hut standards.  It has double glazing and was built in 2006 to replace the older hut.  There are two bunkrooms plus a kitchen/dining area making this a family friendly hut.  I like that you can put the kids to bed before the adults if you need to and its much quieter to go to sleep.

The hut sits right beside Woolshed Creek making for plenty of creek hopping opportunities and there are also side trips to the Blue Pools and the caves.  These are both a 10-20 minute walk from the hut and can be a great activity if you’ve arrived earlier in the day.

There are some good patches for campsites here, so again if the hut is booked out, you could bring a tent and stay here too.

Woolshed Creek Hut facilities

• 2 bedrooms with mattresses
• A good logburner fire
• Double glazing on the windows
• Large stainless steel benches for cooking
• Great verandah to sit out on
• Long drop toilet outside

Woolshed Creek Hut to Woolshed Creek Carpark (1 hour 45 minutes)

This is the easiest section of the hike and if you’ve done the full trail, you’ll be stoked that you are getting to an almost fully downhill section (unless you go via the bus stop)

You have three options when walking from Woolshed Creek Hut back to the carpark

1. Easiest route:  Up the 4wd track, which you follow for a while until you see a small trail arrow to turn left and join up with the main trail (1 hour, 45 minutes)
2. Harder easy route:  Head alongside the Woolshed Creek on the same side as the hut, then head up the goat track over the hill and down again.  It’s a more technical climb and I’d avoid if its windy (about 2 hours)
3. Advanced track: Bus Stop and Rhyolite Track which is very undulating and more technical and has soe cool rock formations. (3-4 hours)

We took the easiest route up the 4WD track which starts with a very steep uphill, but once you reach the top here, it’s all downhill from here.  You’ll stay on the 4WD style track and you’ll need to keep an eye out for a low marker to the left of the trail.  Here you will head through the long grassy tussock and meet up with the main trail again.

Back on the miners track you’ll pass the old coal mine then head down through the forest trail and back to the carpark.

Once we hit the coal mine we were starting to lose light so we had to use our headtorches.  We were fully aware that we would likely run out of daylight so were well prepared for dark hiking.  We had also done this trail multiple times so there was a low risk of getting lost etc here

(do make sure you take added precautions if this may be the case)

And we made it.  After 17.1km the kids made the whole trek and while they were pretty over it by the time we got to the end, it was a feat they look back on quite fondly.

Mt Somers Track Loop

If you wanted to make the Mt Somers tramp a full loop, instead of heading to the Woolshed Creek carpark, you could head on the Rhyolite Track aka the Bus Stop route and then connect with the South Face and head back to Pinnacles Carpark

The track from Woolshed Creek to the Bus Stop route is quite undulating.  You’ll head over the slightly dodgy one person bridge near the blue pools and head up the hill, only to go back down again and this happens a number of times (a little demoralising when you’ve done that good uphill only to lose it again) until you reach the bus stop sign.

You’ll need to be careful as you head over the sections of boardwalk that can get a little icy and then you can head around to the left on the South Face track.  This is the one route we haven’t completed yet but I’d estimate 7-9 hours perhaps for this whole section.