1 / Where it all began
Cooma Cottage (Yass) to Fitzpatrick Trackhead (Wee Jasper)
Nearest town: Yass
The starting point for the Hume & Hovell Track is 10 minutes from Yass at the heritage-listed Cooma Cottage, home to explorer Hamilton Hume.
Practice your picnicking skills in the vast grounds of this National Trust property before venturing south towards Burrinjuck Dam where you can discover birdlife and drop a hopeful line into the water.
Hikers looking to venture south need to book a boat ride across the dam to Cathedral Rock, continuing on foot towards the small township of Wee Jasper. If time allows, visitors can explore a short side-trip into a subterranean wonderworld in the dramatic limestone formations of Carey’s Cave (guided tours only).
Further south, feel the sense of accomplishment as you make it to the top of Mt Wee Jasper, at 1121 meters.
Section 1 / Highlights
Estimated walk times
SECTION 1 / Cooma Cottage (Yass) to Fitzpatrick Trackhead:
72.1 km / 25 hrs / Grade: Easy (entire section)Cooma Cottage (Yass) to Crown Reserve Rest Site: 22.5 km / 7 hrs
Crown Reserve Rest Site to Captain Campsite: 8.8 km / 3 hrs
Captain Campsite to Burrinjuck Waters State Park: 20.4 km / 7 hrs
Burrinjuck Waters State Park to Fitzpatrick Trackhead: 20.3 km / 7 hrs
Maps and downloads
Map 1 – Cooma Cottage to Fitzpatrick Trackhead
How to access the track
Black Range Road / The Track turns off Yass Valley Way and follows Black Range Road for the first 31.1 km. Turn off the Yass Valley Way on the NW side of Yass onto Black Range Road.
Waterview Road / Turn off Burrinjuck Road 5.1 km SW of the Black Range Road/Burrinjuck Road intersection onto Waterview Road.
Burrinjuck Waters State Park / Accessed via Burrinjuck Road. The Track heads north from here into the Burrinjuck NR. To the south, it's a boat ride across to the Wee Jasper end of Burrinjuck Dam.
Fitzpatrick Trackhead / Accessed via the Wee Jasper Road from either Yass or Tumut.
Nearby campsites
Walking notes
Above: Cooma Cottage
The Hume and Hovell Track commences at Cooma Cottage, Hume’s main residence during his lifetime. The first 37km of track, heading towards Burrinjuck Dam, is on public roads with only light traffic. The track heads west along the Yass Valley Way towards the Hume Highway. 5.6km from the centre of Yass, the track turns left onto Black Range Road and follows this road for a further 22.2km to the first campsite: The Captain Campsite.
Above: Burrinjuck Dam
From The Captain Campsite, the track continues to follow Black Range Road until the intersection with Burrinjuck Road. It turns left and follows Burrinjuck Road for 9km, and then left again onto Waterview Road. This road then enters Burrinjuck Nature Reserve along a rough bush track. A benched foot track then drops down to Lake Burrinjuck. Near the shore, a foot track is used to pass around Carrolls Bay to reach Burrinjuck Waters Holiday Park.
From here, a boat service is used to cross Lake Burrinjuck, a journey of 6-7km taking approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The boat is usually available on Mondays and Thursdays for track users, or by special arrangement for groups. Boat bookings are essential - please call (02) 6227 8114 to arrange timings. There is a charge of $50 for the boat journey, payable at Burrinjuck Waters Waters Holiday Park. This includes camping at Burrinjuck Waters Holiday Park the night prior and use of their facilities, including laundry and showers. Small change is required for these facilities: 20c for showers and $1 for laundry. A kiosk is also available that stocks staple groceries and provides hot meals. Please note the shop shuts at 5pm on Sundays. For further information visit their website.
The disembarkation point is near Cathedral Rock. From here, a vehicular track is followed south for 4km to intersect with a sealed road near Carey’s Cave. The track takes Cave’s Road into Wee Jasper, passing Barber’s Bay near Carey’s Cave and Carey’s Reserve, a public camping ground used by campers, fishermen and water sport enthusiasts. From Carey’s Reserve, it is 2.1km to Wee Jasper Village and then only a short distance to the entry of Wee Jasper Nature Reserve.
From Wee Jasper two track options exist to get to the Fitzpatrick Trackhead: straight along Wee Jasper Road, or on a foot track through the Wee Jasper Nature Reserve. The foot track heads into the reserve and climbs steeply over a stony ridge covered with a dry sclerophyll forest. In spring and early summer the wildflowers are very attractive. From the top of the ridge, looking back towards Wee Jasper, there are some good viewing points to take a breather and view the village area and the Goodgradigbee Arm of Lake Burrinjuck.
The track descends down the western side of the ridge, crosses Wee Jasper Creek and reaches the Wee Jasper Road. From here the track heads left along a foot track for 1.5km to Fitzpatrick Trackhead, or straight ahead to skip the Trackhead and continue on to Mt Wee Jasper on Section 2.
