Yankee Hat
Guide updated · verify live track status with Parks ACT
Parks 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.
Do not pair: Do not rush Yankee Hat then drive to Booroomba “because we have time.” Different days.
Turnaround: If the grassland is a furnace and someone is out of water, reverse. The art will wait.
- Skipping the Visitor Centre and discovering Old Boboyan Road is a soup after rain.
- Treating the shelter as a climbing boulder.
- Grade 3
- 3 hours
- 6.5 km return from Yankee Hat car park, Old Boboyan Road
- Effort: easy
- Best for: The grassland walk to the ACT’s only publicly accessible Ngunnawal rock-art shelter
Distance, grade, time and open/closed status change — verify on Parks ACT walking tracks and with Namadgi Visitor Centre before you go.
Official Parks ACT info (verify status)
Yankee Hat — Yankee Hat grasslands
Adrian Setterfield · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Where you start
Yankee Hat car park, Old Boboyan Road
About 30 km south-west of Tharwa / ~90 minutes from Canberra CBD depending on roads. Final stretch unsealed; Parks ACT notes Old Boboyan Road is generally 2WD when dry.
How to get there
- Tharwa → Namadgi Visitor Centre → Boboyan Road / Old Boboyan Road to the signed Yankee Hat car park.
- Unsealed; fords possible after rain. VERIFY with the Visitor Centre.
How to do it (step by step)
- Easy grassland walk to the granite shelter. Stay on the marked track and boardwalk. View the art from the platform — do not touch rock or pigment.
- Download the official Yankee Hat map and guide (Parks ACT PDF).
Packing list (shell, grip, water) lives on the gear hub— not a shopping list on every walk. Pairing and Plan B: plan your visit · Booroomba road Plan B.
Map (orientation)
Pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads, parking and track status on Parks ACT before you drive.
Interactive map — pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads and road status before you drive.
Extra tips
- This is the respectful first Namadgi walk if granite cliffs are too much for the group.
- Kangaroos in the valley are wild. Give them space. Do not feed wildlife.
Itineraries that use this walk
3–5 hours on the ground (+ Canberra drive)
Half-day from Tharwa
Visitor Centre, then one outdoor block: Woodland Walk or Cypress Pine Lookout. Yankee Hat only if you already have the road status and a 3-hour walking window. Not Gingera, not Booroomba-from-Honeysuckle.
One night + a morning walk
Overnight Orroral + valley morning
Book Orroral (or Honeysuckle) official only. Per person per night. Phone the Visitor Centre during the online outage. Morning: Orroral heritage or Yankee Hat — not Gingera, not Mount Clear with a camper trailer.
Often paired with Settlers Track— only if energy and weather allow.
Area guide: Gudgenby & Yankee Hat · Maps pin
Nearby stays (optional)
After the walk plan is solid: Canberra / Tharwa / Queanbeyan beds if you still need them. Kit searches live on the gear hub. Official Parks ACT camping, park fees and government bookings are never affiliated. Guided tours live on the Tours hub.
Nearby stays
Canberra · Tharwa · Queanbeyan
- Hotels & apartments in CanberraPrimary hub — 45–60 minutes to Namadgi Visitor Centre
- TharwaLast village before the Visitor Centre — few beds, last supplies
- QueanbeyanNSW overflow when Canberra is full — still a drive to Tharwa
All Booking.com links open in a new tab and may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Official Parks Victoria camping and hut-platform bookings are never affiliated.
Some stay, tour and gear links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Park entry (free) and official Parks ACT camping bookings are never affiliated. Affiliate disclosure · Privacy
Some stay, tour and gear links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Park entry (free) and official Parks ACT camping bookings are never affiliated. Disclosure · Tours hub