Be prepared for stairs.
I’m just going to go right out and say that. While Horseshoe Falls are just a short distance (10 minutes or so) from Russell Falls on the Mt Field National Park waterfall circuit, the hike to them requires a bit of resilience.
LADY BARRON FALLS, MT FIELD NATIONAL PARK – TASMANIA, AUSTRALIAHorseshoe Falls are the second stop on the waterfall circuit at Mt Field. You will have to pass either Lady Barron Falls or Russell Falls first in order to get to them, depending which way you start. Check out those blog posts to figure out which would suit you best.
Myself and my hostel friends Ben and Yiwii from The Pickled Frog Backpackers (review in the footnotes of O’Grady Falls blog post , if you prefer a hotel try Hotels.com for comparison prices) began from Russell Falls. They ventured ahead of me, climbing up the stony stairs that zig-zag through the unique Tasmanian forest.
I didn’t count how many stone stairs there were, but there was a bench about half-way up, so that’s an indication that there’s enough stairs to require a rest. Safe to say I was huffing and puffing like my life depended on it. Well, it probably did.
Luckily the climb is made easier by the beautiful views you have surrounding you.
And then we hit the wooden stairs, of which there were 105. One hundred. And five. So yeah, be prepared for that, is all I’m saying.
The climb is well worth it, though. I had hoped it would lead to the top of Russell Falls, and I was right.
We were able to look out at the view from the river that flowed down into the falls we’d just been admiring minutes before. So that was pretty cool.
The river looked surprisingly small for the incredible flow at Russell Falls, but it was pretty nonetheless. It trickled by us with that classic, soothing sound of gentle water.
We continued on to Horseshoe Falls. Since the tracks are within a National Park, they’re well signposted. We laughed at the ‘1 minute’ engraved on the sign below. Almost doesn’t seem worth putting it there, does it?
Because sure enough, 1 minute later, we reached Horseshoe Falls.
As you can see, these falls get their name from the shape formed by the two sides of water flowing down into the river below. They were extremely luscious and green when we visited, which we relished. They’re not always like this, so consider this your disclaimer warning!
I was again able to practice my photography skills, enjoying the mossy green rocks I had to play with.
I then forced my new friends into taking photos of me once again. Well, actually they quite enjoyed it to be fair. In fact they were encouraging, and captured some killer ‘behind the scenes’ shots for me. They were legends.
As you can see, I set up the camera angle and adjusted the settings, making sure everything was perfect. The only real credit I can give to my new-found friends was them directing me on where to stand and how to pose. So I guess I have them to thank for that. Love you, guys!
I enjoyed Horseshoe Falls, though I wish they were flowing a little more to make that horseshoe shape more distinct.
We then began our journey to Lady Barron Falls, the longest and hardest part of the hike (which is still easy). Lady Barron Falls are 50 minutes from Horseshoe Falls and an hour from Russell Falls, with a Tall Trees walk on the way.
Quick Facts
| Last visit | June 2017 |
| Best Time | July-September |
| Start / Finish | Mount Field Visitor Centre |
| Unsealed Roads | No |
| Walking distance | 1.2kms one way, circuit |
| Time | 45 minutes one way, or 2hrs for circuit |
| Difficulty | Moderate, stairs involved |
| Facilities | Toilets & Cafe at visitor center |
| Lat & Long | 42.6763° S, 146.7116° E |
| Nearby | Russell Falls and Lady Barron Falls (circuit) |
| Watercourse | Russell Falls Creek |