Zig Zag Track on kunanyi/Mount Wellington to close for maintenance until winter

One of the most popular walking tracks on kunanyi/Mount Wellington will be off-limits to the public from late this month – and it may not open again until winter.

One of the most well-trodden walking trails on kunanyi/Mount Wellington will close for maintenance later this month – and it isn’t expected to open again until winter.

The Zig Zag Track, which is more than a century old, will be off-limits to the public from late January, as it undergoes much needed works, the Hobart City Council says.

“If we can we will open up the track on weekends, but that will depend on safety conditions,” the council said.

“The work will make the track a safer walking route while maintaining its important heritage values and bush feel.”

In the interim, sections of the Milles and Icehouse tracks are being improved so more and more people can use them as alternative routes to reach the pinnacle while the Zig Zag Track is closed.

Hobart City Council diagram of alternative route to the pinnacle for walkers during Zig Zag Track closure. Picture: SUPPLIED

Car parking at the old hotel site at The Springs will be reduced, and the council said “occasional” helicopter operations could lead to the short-term closure of nearby tracks.

Far and away the most popular means of summiting the mountain, the Zig Zag Track is immediately south of the iconic Organ Pipes.

Hobart Walking Club president Jill Finch said it was the most direct route to the pinnacle and was “quite sheltered”.

“You’ve just got the wall of the mountain behind you all the time so you’re sheltered from anything westerly,” Ms Finch said. “And you’re getting views all the way up. It’s a nicely made track, it’s not too steep. It’s a gentle gradient.

“It’s really the most obvious route up.”

Ms Finch said the Hobart Walking Club was always glad to see tracks upgraded and made safer.

“It seems a long time to early winter,” she said. “But they do things very thoroughly these days with the tracks.”

“So hopefully this time (the Zig Zag Track) will be in good condition for many, many years.”

Follow @rg_inglis