page_title: Ben Lomond (Tasmania)
section_title: Recreational walking tracks onto the mountain
hierarchical_section_title: Ben Lomond (Tasmania) / Modern history / Recreation on Ben Lomond / Recreational walking tracks onto the mountain
caption_attribution_description: Snow field on top of Ben Lomond within the national park. Tasmania, Australia
context_page_description: Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia.
  The mountain is composed of a central massif with an extensive plateau above 1,200 metres and high outlier peaks projecting from the mountain. The highest feature on the plateau is the unimposing summit of Legges Tor, at 1572 m, on the northern aspect of the plateau. The southern end of the plateau is dominated by Stacks Bluff, 1,527 metres, which is an imposing feature that drops away to a cliffline 600 metres above the surrounding foothills. The prominent outlier peaks of Ragged Jack, Mensa Moor and Tower Hill surround the plateau.
  Ben Lomond is east of Launceston in the Ben Lomond National Park. Tasmania's premier Alpine skiing operations are located at Ben Lomond with downhill skiing facilities in the State.
  Its accessibility from Launceston, together with the existence of a ski village on the plateau make Ben Lomond an all year round favourite for tourists and hikers. Access to the village and summit can be made via several walking tracks or via a zig-zag road known as "Jacobs Ladder".
  The locality of Ben Lomond is in the local government area of Northern Midlands in the Central region of Tasmania.
context_section_description: Recreational walking on and around the plateau was established from at least the mid 1830s, usually for the purpose of summiting Stacks Bluff, but it was not until the 1880s, when the mines had brought large numbers into the area, that walking on the plateau became popular. At this time the principal track to the plateau lay across the Ben Lomond Marshes ascending the western side of Stacks Bluff.  This track led from Avoca, up Castle Cary Rivulet to the Ben Lomond Marshes, to the plateau on the western side of Stacks Bluff and along the headwaters of the Ben Lomond Rivulet.  The track was describes as passing up the 'Ploughed Fields' (the scree slope below Stacks Bluff) and proceeding through a pass between Wilmot Bluff and the western cliff line called by locals 'The Gap'.  Avoca, being located on the Fingal train line from Launceston, was the staging point for excursions to the mountain, with local guides arranging packhorses, camping equipment and suitable campsites below the plateau.
  A track from Mangana was created in the early 20th century for the purposes of attracting walking tourists onto the plateau.   The summit was '9 miles from Mangana',  led up the eastern escarpment and was used later by  Legge for his survey of the mountain. This track passed by a hut below the plateau (complete with stables) and was regarded as an easy ascent to the plateau
  Another steep track existed from Storys Creek which is still used to ascend via Tranquil Tarn to the summit of Stack's Bluff. The western face of Ben Lomond was accessed from English Town and this track took a course round the northern slopes of Ragged Jack.  This is the original route for access for skiers before the northern route was established from Carr Villa hut.
  Excursions in the 1880s became popular enough for a landowner to build a two-storey hotel with 12 rooms, a store, bakehouse and stables at the northern end of the Ben Lomond Marshes for the use of excursionists and miners. This was the 'Ben Lomond Hotel', which was built in 1883, and was a popular staging point for the walk up to the plateau, but by 1908 the hotel had been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. The Ben Lomond Hotel continued to be used as a staging hut for guided excursions up to the plateau from Avoca into the 20th century.
  Today, formed tracks exist that access the plateau from the northern, northeastern and south-eastern aspects of the massif. The northern access track is from the Scout hut at Carr Villa, in the northern foothills, to the summit (following the snow pole line of the old ski track) and thence to the ski village.  The island peak Ragged Jack has  established walking and climbing routes that are accessed via the north west foothills.   The southern access is from Storys Creek, past Tranquil Tarn, to the northern slopes of Stacks Bluff. A track leads up to the summit cairn of Stacks Bluff, which affords extensive views of the entire eastern half of Tasmania. The plateau is relatively open walking but no other marked tracks exist, although guide books describe access to various features on the plateau.
caption: Ben Lomond snowfields.
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