Franklin Forest

A local forest experience for the Huon Valley Community

Franklin Forest is Melukerdee land. We acknowledge Melukerdee elders past and present. We pay deep respect to the continuing relationship to country of Palawa and other Aboriginal people in Lutruwita/Tasmania.

Just 7 kilometres from the historic boat-building town of Franklin lies Franklin Forest.

Visitors to Franklin Forest can find wonder in ancient ecosystem processes, visit the home of swift parrots and Tasmanian devils, and revel in a myriad of fungi, lichens and mosses.

Franklin Forest is home to beautiful stands of leatherwood, sassafras, myrtle, celery top pine and huge old swamp gums, that tower 80m and more.

The Franklin Forest Walks.

Access is via New Road from Franklin - detailed access notes below

Franklin Forest is marked on google maps but be warned you may not have phone coverage in or near the forest. Download on google before leaving home.

There are now 4 tagged walks and 2 car parks. We suggest you take a photo of the maps at the beginning of the Loop Track or at the Mill site. Again, do not rely on phone coverage in Franklin Forest.

Loop Track 2km walk starting at the lower or Loop car park. Walk through fern glades, past nursery logs, giant swamp gums. There is now also a short detour to a hollowed out tree we have dubbed the “Emergency Shelter Tree”.

Gully Track 2hr rtn sidetrack from the Loop Track. Walk past the Parrot Tree, under the Arch Log to the Hobbit Tree, through a beautiful untouched fern gully.

Mill Track 2hr rtn sidetrack from the Loop Track. Walk up the gentle hill, to the tramway and then to the remains of an old saw mill. On the way you will pass “The Repose”, a rest stop beside 500 year old myrtle trees. Once at the mill clearing find the notice board and the start the Mill Walk a short loop around the site of historic McMullens Mill.

Tramway Track 30min rtn track from Mill track. A walk along the old tramway, past the huge Burl Tree to the remains of an old building.

Alternatively the McMullens Mill site can be accessed by a short walk from the Mill car park.

Click here for detailed access notes

Guided Walks

Friends of Franklin Forest run a monthly ecology focused guided walk through the forest, and a history walk around the old McMullens Mill site.

Each walk is no more than 2km but we walk slowly to really take in and discuss the beautiful surroundings. Please bring appropriate bushwalking gear; hiking shoes, rain jacket, water, and snacks. Walking poles if you sometimes use them. Note that the track can be slippery and muddy and involves some climbing over falling trees and therefore may not be suitable for all walkers. Don't forget your warm layers as it's always a few degrees cooler up on the hill and under the trees.

Check our Eventbrite to see when our next walk is.

The Campaign

Since we started raising awareness about Franklin Forest in the winter of 2020, many thousands of people have walked under it’s canopy. When we started, Franklin Forest (then named Castle Forbes Forest) was scheduled to be logged in 2021. The forest survived that forestry plan, but remains part of the Permanent Timber Production Zone and Sustainable Timbers Tasmania inform us that they do intend to log it at some point. Community attention is vital to our campaign to keep this special place intact.

What can you do?

Come for a walk with us or find you own way to the forest following notes on this page. Write in our visitor book. Tell your friends. Post something about your experience on social media. Write letter to the paper about your experience in the forest. Write letters to your MPs. Let people know this matters to you.

Would you like to make a donation?

Donations have helped us with tools and supplies for track work, publicity, first aid kits and courses, a mapping app for tree surveys. Our next project is to source motion sensitive cameras to survey wildlife.

Friends of Franklin Forest

Bendigo Bank BSB 633 000 Account 188 714 141

Friends of Franklin Forest

As well as running monthly guided walks, Friends of Franklin Forest Landcare maintain the tracks, and have teamed up with Franklin and Castle Forbes Bay Landcare groups to manage gorse and blackberry infestations within the historic mill area.

We write letters to the paper, politicians and the council.

We promote the ecological, the social and economic value to the local community, of leaving this forest standing.

We regularly get requests from schools, bush walking and other community groups for their own guided walk and we are always happy to help out.

We love to see so many people enjoying the forest.

We recently started a survey of the size and location of big, hollow bearing habitat trees within the forest and are hoping to source some motion sensitive cameras to survey wildlife.