Location: Waterworks Reserve
Length: 1.3 kilometres
Grade: 3 (suitable for many with some steep sections and steps)
Distance from: Hobart - 5 km, Launceston - 205 km, Devonport - 287 km
Part of this walk's name is true and part of it is fiction. The walk is quite gentle but you won't find any falls. The "Falls" is actually a hand-cut sandstone pipeline that directed water to Hobart from the reservoirs. The water was redirected in the 1940's and the channel has been dry ever since.
Handcut steps and a rail take you to the top of the sandstone falls where you can see the entire Waterworks Reserve through towering trees. The trail then meanders along the Sandy Bay Rivulet through dense forest before emerging onto open bushland. Overall, it's a nice, easy walk for the whole family that features a bit of history and a nice view. And sitting 11 minutes from Hobart CBD, it's a quick fresh-air escape from the city.
Stay in the right lane as you leave Hobart on Davey Street to pass the Southern Outlet turnoff. Take the first exit at the roundabout for Lynton Avenue before turning right at Waterworks Road. In 2.5 kilometres, you'll enter the reserve. Drive all the way to the back to find the trailhead.
The drive from Hobart CBD is only 11 minutes over 5 kilometres. Launceston is 2.5 hours and 205 kilometres to the north. Devonport is clear across Tasmania on the north coast. The port city is 3.5 hours by car over the span of 287 kilometres.
Supervise children ascending the falls. The hand-cut stairs are a bit wonky and there are some drop-offs at the top.
