Namadgi National Park trails
Guide updated · grades and open status change — verify Parks ACT
Start with a clear lookout vs granite vs summit decision. Cypress Pine or Yankee Hat covers a first Namadgi hour; Booroomba-from-Honeysuckle, Square Rock and Gingera are full days. Distances, grades and times below are planning ranges — always confirm on Parks ACT and park alerts. Weather, seasonal roads and closures change.
Decide before you lace up
- Easy / mixed group: Woodland Walk or Cypress Pine Lookout from the Visitor Centre — still Namadgi weather.
- Art site / grassland: Yankee Hat — 6.5 km, stay off the painted rock, ask about the unsealed road.
- Hard granite / summit / multi-day: Booroomba from Honeysuckle, Square Rock, Gingera, or the AAWT — one big walk only, early start, a written reverse time.
Stacking two hard walks on the first visit is how days fall apart. Pick the table row that matches your energy, then open the full trail guide for getting-there detail.
West from Mount Gingera summit
Cowl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Start with these three
Yankee Hat grasslands · Adrian Setterfield · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Yankee Hat
easyParks ACT: 6.5 km return / 3 hours. Easy walking through grasslands, often with kangaroos, to Yankee Hat shelter. Do not touch the art. The site reopened after 2020 fire recovery — still treat it as fragile.
- Grade
- Grade 3
- Time
- 3 hours
- Distance
- 6.5 km return from Yankee Hat car park, Old Boboyan Road
View guide →
Square Rock
moderateParks ACT: 10.5 km return / 4.5 hours from Corin Road. Alpine ash, snow gums, huge granite, Square Rock lookout, optional Orroral Valley viewpoint on a side track. Metal ladder and cliffs — care required.
- Grade
- Grade 3
- Time
- 4.5 hours
- Distance
- 10.5 km return from Corin Road
View guide →
Mount Gingera
hardSecond-highest ACT peak (1,857 m). Parks ACT: snow gums, Pryors Hut, panoramic summit, last kilometre steep. Two official starts: Mt Franklin Road (14.5 km / 6 hours) or Stockyard Spur from Corin Dam (22 km / 8–9 hours, 700 m up and down).
- Grade
- Grade 4 — hard full day
- Time
- 6 hours from Mt Franklin Road · 8–9 hours via Stockyard Spur / Corin Dam
- Distance
- 14.5 km return from Mt Franklin Road · 22 km return via Stockyard Spur
View guide →
Quick comparison (planning only)
| Walk | Effort | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booroomba Rocks | hard | 1.5 hours from the car park · 4 hours from Honeysuckle Campground | Fit walkers who want Namadgi’s granite cliff views — and who will check the road first |
| Square Rock | moderate | 4.5 hours | A full granite-and-snow-gum day when Booroomba’s road is shut |
| Mount Gingera | hard | 6 hours from Mt Franklin Road · 8–9 hours via Stockyard Spur / Corin Dam | Experienced walkers who want the ACT’s second-highest summit and will treat weather as a veto |
| Yankee Hat | easy | 3 hours | The grassland walk to the ACT’s only publicly accessible Ngunnawal rock-art shelter |
| Mt Tennent | hard | 2 hours to the lookout · 6 hours to the summit | A hard day that starts at the Visitor Centre car park |
| Settlers Track | moderate | 4 hours · 5 hours via Waterhole Hut | Huts and homesteads in a corner Parks ACT notes was untouched by the 2020 fire |
| AAWT | hard | 6–8 weeks for the whole AAWT; Namadgi days vary | Experienced, self-reliant parties linking Kosciuszko and the ACT high country |
Easy
Moderate
Square Rock
moderateParks ACT: 10.5 km return / 4.5 hours from Corin Road. Alpine ash, snow gums, huge granite, Square Rock lookout, optional Orroral Valley viewpoint on a side track. Metal ladder and cliffs — care required.
- Grade
- Grade 3
- Time
- 4.5 hours
- Distance
- 10.5 km return from Corin Road
View guide →
Settlers Track
moderateParks ACT: 6 km loop from Boboyan Road (4 hours) or 9 km via Waterhole Hut (5 hours). Nineteenth- and twentieth-century sites. Download the official Settlers Track notes.
- Grade
- Grade 3
- Time
- 4 hours · 5 hours via Waterhole Hut
- Distance
- 6 km loop · 9 km loop via Waterhole Hut
View guide →
Hard
Booroomba Rocks
hardTall forest to massive granite cliffs and Brindabella panoramas. Parks ACT lists the walk open, but Booroomba Rocks Road is closed until further notice (alert 11 May 2026). Reach the track from Honeysuckle Campground via the Australian Alps Walking Track.
- Grade
- Grade 4 — moderate experience
- Time
- 1.5 hours from the car park · 4 hours from Honeysuckle Campground
- Distance
- 2.5 km return from the car park · 10.5 km return from Honeysuckle via AAWT
View guide →
Mount Gingera
hardSecond-highest ACT peak (1,857 m). Parks ACT: snow gums, Pryors Hut, panoramic summit, last kilometre steep. Two official starts: Mt Franklin Road (14.5 km / 6 hours) or Stockyard Spur from Corin Dam (22 km / 8–9 hours, 700 m up and down).
- Grade
- Grade 4 — hard full day
- Time
- 6 hours from Mt Franklin Road · 8–9 hours via Stockyard Spur / Corin Dam
- Distance
- 14.5 km return from Mt Franklin Road · 22 km return via Stockyard Spur
View guide →
Mt Tennent
hardParks ACT: start at Namadgi Visitor Centre, Woodland Walk, then Mt Tennent Track to Cypress Pine Lookout (4.5 km return / 2 hours) or continue to the summit (15 km return / 6 hours). Fire tower views. Cycling on the fire trail only.
- Grade
- Grade 4
- Time
- 2 hours to the lookout · 6 hours to the summit
- Distance
- 4.5 km return to Cypress Pine Lookout · 15 km return to the summit
View guide →
AAWT
hardParks ACT: 650 km through Victoria, NSW and the ACT. Grade 5. Most people walk sections. The Namadgi section is also the current access to Booroomba Rocks while the road is closed. This page is not a full AAWT plan.
- Grade
- Grade 5 — remote multi-day
- Time
- 6–8 weeks for the whole AAWT; Namadgi days vary
- Distance
- 650 km one way (full track) · Namadgi is one section
View guide →
Walks FAQ
Tap a question to expand the answer.
What is the best first walk in Namadgi National Park?
Yankee Hat (6.5 km return) or Cypress Pine Lookout from the Visitor Centre. Square Rock if you want granite and Booroomba’s road is closed. Always verify track status with Parks ACT.
How hard are Booroomba and Gingera?
Booroomba is Grade 4 with cliffs — currently a 4-hour return from Honeysuckle if the road is closed. Gingera is a 6–9 hour Grade 4 alpine day. They are not lookout strolls.
Can I do Booroomba and Gingera on the same Canberra day?
No. Different trailheads, different legs. Pick one. Keep Yankee Hat or Cypress Pine as Plan B.