St Valentines Peak – Sat. 19th September 2026
The prominent cone of St Valentines Peak is visible from higher places on the north coast, and looks very steep and mountainous. From the west or east, it looks more like a long ridge. Either way, it’s still a solid climb, but on a clear day, offers spectacular 360° views and well worth the effort. A good level of walk fitness is required, but energetic and resilient children should cope well.
Fairly soon after leaving the carpark, a small creek has to be crossed. Some more recent walkers have described a rock-hopping, log balancing crossing nearby, but if you have kayak booties, it might be a good idea to bring them, in case it’s a boots-off wade.
The walk starts at approx. 500m alt. heading southwest and gradually climbing to gain 100m altitude over the first km. The route mostly follows former logging roads which at the lower level are largely overgrown, but open up more as the climb up the northern ridge continues. The track becomes increasingly steep over the next 2 km, gaining another 400 metres to reach the first summit peak. At this stage, the track is no longer as steep, with a further 90m gained over the best part of another km to reach the summit at 1110m.
.Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Darren Wunder on 0438 557 046 to book in. Meet 8:30 am at Hiscutt Park, Crescent Street Penguin by taking the right hand turn straight after the traffic lights if coming from Burnie or off the Bass Highway. A pond and windmill make it easy to spot. Please negotiate any alternative travel arrangements with the leader. You must contact the walk leader per details above if intending to join this walk. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.
Those coming from Launceston area should meet at Door of Hope southern carpark at 7:00 am. Check with Darren about who to meet there.
To access this area from Burnie: Follow the Bass Highway east from Burnie, turning off at Howth to follow the coastal road to reach the meeting place – 16 km.
If coming from Devonport or Launceston: From Devonport, it’s 22 km via the Bass Highway. An hour and a half from the middle of Launceston (130 km) following the Bass Highway is ample time to make it to Penguin. Take the second exit off the highway, turn right at the traffic lights and the right turn straight after that will get you to Hiscutt Park.
Drive time from Penguin to the start of walk is about 45km (44 min) Following Pine Road (B17) from Penguin, to South Riana, then South Riana Road (C115) to Upper Natone Road (C102), and finally on to Kara Road. This is followed south for just under 6km to reach the carpark.
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2026 walks calendar] apply:
D Drive distance requires early departure
S Steep incline for at least part of the way
M Marshy or muddy sections be prepared to walk with wet feet. (creek crossing etc!)
E Exposed alpine conditions ; can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped.
Click this link – Preparation, Food and Safety – for a more detailed discussion of guidelines for Boots N’ All walks, and especially preparation for exposed alpine conditions.
Map details & References:
St Valentines Peak: 1:100000 map is Inglis (Tasmap 8114 ) and 1:25000 map is Parrawe (Tasmap 3842)
(Short ref. 958207)
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 3 95 930 54 20 940 -41.35632 145.75586
St Valentines Peak is worth 1 peakbagger point, and also an Abel. For explanation of peakbagging, see our new Peakbaggers and Abels page, which has links to various lists of peaks, including Peakbaggers, Abels, Poimenas and others. For really enthusiastic walkers, Phil Andrew’s recently updated Tasmanian Peaks Composite List [link] can be downloaded, which gives a complete smorgasbord of Tasmanian mountains, hills and high places – enough for a lifetime of bushwalking!
Direct links: right-click here to download GPX for this walk or here to open KML for this walk in Google Earth (if available on your device).
To see the full listing of our extensive GPX and KML files, click here. To find one in a hurry, Ctrl-F to bring up a search box, and type in part of the name of the walk. For some walks, there will be more than one version. Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice.
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