Ben Lomond Circuit Walk

[Tassie Tiger]

Planning a trip to the north of the state in mid Feb. Just reading about the Ben Lomond Circuit Walk in "100 Walks in Tasmania" by Tyrone Thomas and Andrew Close pp 125 - 128. They describe a 12.7k minimum 5hr circuit walk via the Plains of Heaven and returning via the ski village and road. Anyone done this walk? If so advice on terrain/track conditions etc would be appreciated.

[Scottyk]

Pretty easy walk really, about 2 hours up to the village and then about 3 hours down the road
Nice views and lovely alpine fusion plants on the track to the summit from Car Villa

[MrWalker]

My wife recently did the section from the ski village to Carr Villa. She complained that I should never have let her go that way, because it is not suitable for an elderly lady with an injured knee (from a fall 4 days earlier). If you are not in that category then you should be OK.

An alternative, or extra, walk is to follow the circuit marked with ski poles to the south of the ski village. This is more challenging because there is no real track and blindly following the ski poles will lead you through some bushes and wet spots, but the vegetation is varied and interesting. There are a couple of sections where the ski poles lead out to dead ends where you enjoy the view before going back to the circuit.

[Tassie Tiger]

Thanks for the information guys. I note in the description in the book that there is a boulder scree to negotiate. How extensive is that as I am not really all that keen on prolonged rock hoping? Cheers

[MrWalker]

Thanks for the information guys. I note in the description in the book that there is a boulder scree to negotiate. How extensive is that as I am not really all that keen on prolonged rock hoping? Cheers

This was the section my wife complained about most. There is about 100m of large boulders with big gaps between them. If you are agile then you just jump from one to the next. If not, then take it one boulder at a time. The route is nearly level, so it is not one of those really steep scree fields.
Above that is a steep section where the creekline runs down the track and scoparia on each side stops you moving off it. So this could be a bit slippery.

There is also a section close to Carr Villa that crosses a scree slope, but the track has been groomed there, so that is not hard.

[Tassie Tiger]

Thanks Mr Walker