Secret Falls and Myrtle Gully Falls

Secret Falls and Myrtle Gully Falls sit on the same walk in the foothills of kunanyi / Mount Wellington, reached from the end of Old Farm Road in South Hobart behind the Cascade Brewery. Dogs are welcome on lead here, and the rule is set by the Wellington Park Management Trust rather than the city council, which matters because it does not apply uniformly across the mountain.

Leash status

On lead throughout, with the lead no longer than two metres. These tracks fall inside the Wellington Park Recreation Zone, where leashed dogs are permitted on approved walking tracks. Other parts of Wellington Park carry different and stricter conditions, and dogs are not permitted in the Drinking Water Catchment, Natural or Remote zones at all, so read the sign at the trailhead rather than assuming the whole mountain is open. There are no bins out here; whatever you bag, you carry out.

The walk

About 5.6 km all up, graded moderate, and most people take two to two and a half hours. The climb is steady rather than sharp, through wet forest with tall eucalypts and tree ferns. Myrtle Gully Falls is the larger of the pair at roughly six metres, seen from a small wooden bridge. Secret Falls is smaller and set in a narrow rock cleft, reached by an unmarked side track that drops away to the left about fifty metres before the main falls. In a dry spell the flow thins to very little, so after rain is when these are worth the climb.

Max: On the Secret Falls scramble, keep the lead short and let the dog pick the line. A dog towing you down a wet chute is how both of you end up in the creek.

Hazards and terrain

Rock underfoot goes slick in the wet, which is most of the year in this gully. The side track to Secret Falls is the sharp end of it: steep, loose and often muddy, and it is unmarked, so you need to be paying attention to find it and to keep footing on it. Paws that handle wet rock and mud are the brief here.

Getting there and parking

Take Macquarie Street out of the city, follow it onto Cascade Road, then turn into Old Farm Road and run it to the very end. Parking is a small free gravel area and there is not much of it. There are no toilets at the trailhead or anywhere on the tracks. Metro Tasmania buses serve Cascade Road, but it is a long uphill walk from the nearest stop to the start, so driving is the practical choice with a dog.

More walks nearby

Hobart Rivulet Park is the flat, easy option in the same suburb when legs are tired, and it has a small designated off-lead grass area near the MacFarlane Street footbridge. Knocklofty Summit Loop is the next climb over, and Rivulet Cafe is the closest coffee once you are back down.

When to go

Mid week mornings, for a quiet track and a space at the end of Old Farm Road. Go after rain if you want the falls actually falling, and accept a muddier walk for it. This is a good pick for fit dogs that need a climb rather than a lap, and a poor one for anyone wanting an off-lead outing, since every metre here is on a two-metre line.

More Hobart routes are in our TAS trails guide, and the South Hobart page has the local dog-friendly listing.