Hacket Track: Walking Guide, Time & Access

Route overview

A day walk up the Hacket Creek valley to Hacket Hut. This track has been badly damaged – there are many slips, take great care.

This DOC directory entry covers Hacket Track in Marlborough, within Mount Richmond Forest Park. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.

Distance, time and grade

• Distance: 11.4 km return via same track
• Walking time: 4 hr return
• DOC grade: Advanced

Access and alerts

Source checked 2026-10-08. This page is a dated snapshot, not a live track-status report. Check current DOC route information immediately before travelling. An absence of listed alerts does not establish that a route is open.

Dog access

Dogs with a DOC permit only. Contact closest DOC office to get a permit. Other pets on conservation land rules.

Description

Hacket Track starts at the picnic area by the Hacket Track car park. It crosses a wooden bridge over the Roding River and, after 1 km, a suspension bridge across Hacket Creek.

The track follows the creek through private land before reaching a picnic area at the junction of Miner River and Hacket Creek. At this point you have the option of turning on to the Whispering Falls Track.

Continue along Hacket Track to Hacket Hut.

30 minutes upstream, at the junction of the Browning Stream, a sign-posted track leads to Browning Hut. Walkers should continue on the right-hand track to Hacket Hut.

Side track: Chromite Mine Track

Time: 25 minDistance: 1.1 km

This track leads to a historic chromite mine. It turns off of Hacket Track not far up the valley from the Whispering Falls junction.

There is the option to continue over the ridge into the Serpentine River Valley (meeting the Serpentine River Road) and back to the Hacket car park. It is 6.2 km (2 hr) to the car park from the turn off.

Getting there

The track starts from the signposted Hacket Track car park on the Aniseed Valley Road.

Follow SH6 out of Nelson, heading south. Drive through Stoke and Richmond, then at Hope turn left onto Aniseed Valley Road.

Follow Aniseed Valley Road for 11.5 km (about 15 minutes), then turn off the road onto a gravel driveway, which leads a short distance to the Hacket Track car park. The turnoff from Aniseed Road has a DOC signpost for Hacket Track.

Know before you go

Toilets are available at the car park at the start of the Hacket Track, but not elsewhere along the track.

There are many washouts, slips and a high risk of falling rocks

Erosion on Hacket TrackImage: DOC

There are many slips along Hacket Track and Whispering Falls Track. Slips are very common in this area and further slips and rockfalls are likely – if you are not comfortable with this risk, we recommend choosing a different track.

Slips are marked with danger signs – move quickly but carefully through these sections and do not stop.

Many sections of the track between the car park and the Whispering Falls turnoff have been washed out by extreme weather events. The ground is unstable and more track sections could collapse.

Avoid the track during heavy rain

Heavy rain makes slips more likely. We recommend avoiding the track completely if heavy rain is forecast.

Sources and reuse

Route descriptions and practical information reproduced from the Department of Conservation, Crown copyright, under CC BY 4.0, subject to DOC's copyright policy. Formatting has been adapted, including flattening page sections; follow the original DOC page for maps, section-specific layout, current notices and linked documents. Outdoor Next is independent and is not endorsed by DOC.

The accompanying photograph is a licensed general hiking illustration, not a photograph of this route.