Child friendly rating: 3 stars

Distance: 5.8km

Signposted time: 3.5 hours

Bookings Required? Yes

Suitable in Winter? Not always

Camping Available? Yes

4wd required? No

Parking:

Park at the Sharplin Falls Carpark at the end of Flynn's Road behind Staveley

The Track:

While nearby to the very child-friendly Woolshed Creek Hut, this hut is a very different trip, and is much more physically demanding. There are very steep track sections.

The track starts off following the Sharplin Falls track which is better worn, but you only follow this for a couple hundred metres. Then you start steeply climbing up 300m of elevation on a track that is significantly less worn than the Woolshed Creek track.

This uphill section up to Duke Knob can be one of the most challenging sections, but at least you get it over and done with early in the walk, but it can also put kids off the rest of the walk starting off with the hard part.

There is a section with a chain which you can use to help pull yourself up on a steeper slipperier section, which can be fun for capable kids. There are also a few tree root sections.

Duke Knob is the only real 'view' on this track, as you are generally walking sheltered in the bushline here.

After this you drop down into Bowyer Stream, which you mostly follow to the hut.

There are some river and stream crossings along the way, and the track is quite undulating. There is also a section where you pass under what's almost a waterfall which can be quite neat.

This is however definitely not a track to do after heavy rain.

The whole walk is often used, so not really overgrown or difficult to follow, it is just definitely a huge step up from Woolshed Creek Hut, which most people do not expect and can take you by surprise.

Hut:

The hut is more dated than Woolshed Creek & single room. There is a selection of single and double bunks which can be great for co-sleeping. It is very popular with rock climbers with good climbing behind the hut - they do often camp out in the hut for days on end in summertime so it is still a very busy hut despite the harder track than Woolshed Creek.

If you have time and energy, past Pinnacles Hut on the way to Woolshed Creek, there are great views as well as some little pools to swim in in the creek if you'd like. This section of track can be very exposed, but if you're staying 2 nights at Pinnacles can be a great day trip in fine weather.

Recommendations:

If you've already done Woolshed Creek Hut and found it easy, there are other huts that are better to visit before attempting this track. This track is much more physically demanding, with some steep sections.

While the distance is very child-friendly, the track is not so much, and I'd recommend having done 3-4 other hut trips first. Plus do expect that this is a much harder track.

An option if you can arrange transport is to walk in from the Woolshed Creek carpark, and stay one night there, one night at Pinnacles Hut, and then walk out to Sharplin Falls on day 3. The track is easier heading out to Sharplin than coming in from Sharplin. This would make the days walking 5km, 6km, then 5.8km which is a very manageable distance for kids. But as warned, other than the walk into Woolshed Creek, the rest of this track is next level difficulty and beginner kids may struggle on the harder track. In winter the track may be under half a metre of snow, and there are unbridged river crossings to manage.

As an overnight trip from Sharplin Falls, I would recommend for kids who have done at least 3-4 of the '4 star' child friendly trips and found these manageable. The step up from Woolshed Creek is huge, despite the close physical proximity.