Welcome Rock - Meet the High Country — Local services in Northern Community

Very peaceful location. A few things I wish was a bit clearer, we stayed at the slate hut, and didn't get the bag transfer as we thought cycling a couple of kms would be fine, the track however I'd say was above grade 3, perhaps a 4 or even a 5 in some parts, going by what the grades are in other places, you definitely need biking experience. The slate hut as well was more like 3 ks to it according to our watch. There was running water, which was great, also they have mugs and wine glasses, lots of pillows (we brought pillow cases), we chopped up some wood for kindling and really enjoyed the outdoor bath, and it was nice they have a couple of stoves for cooking on too. I'd suggest getting the bag transfers if biking as ours was quite heavy and was a bit of a mission, and we had to go in the wrong direction back with them when the track is suggested to go anti clockwise only, as there is no way we were cycling the whole loop with them. The track up to the old ski hut is pretty well maintained we had a 2 wheel drive only. We were lucky with the weather and watched a stunning sunset. Will def reccommend to friends as I've been living in QT over ten years and it really is such a cute little spot. Just be prepared and you don't need to carry too much water as the water at the hut is safe to drink, and be prepared for the biking if you're not the most confident you may need to hop off at...

Slates Hut did not live up to our wanderlust dreams - pretty dirty/run down/missing supplies. We had a nice stay at Kit’s Cabin the night before although wish the entrance from the road were better marked. Simple and small. Next night we hiked into Slates Hut. Here were our issues: Trail when wet is narrow and slippery Hike in to Slates is 3.5 km on the trail, not 2.5 km as stated on maps and guides from Welcome Rock Cabin has an old gas burner that puts soot all over things. Dish-ware is either dusty from never being used or smeared with soot. Cabin was low on key supplies. We almost thought we’d miss a meal because there were only 2 lighters that did not work at first, and 1 match. Also only 4 sheets of toilet paper. Yikes! visitors book is full, last entry was over a year old when we stayed bed/bedding just stays at the cabin for use, it’s not cleaned. Dusty old sheet, old pillows, and a bunch of sleeping bags that you hope are okay to sleep under.

Overall I wish Kit’s Cabin had its own Google Maps location and reviews, and that the owners cared about updates to the Slate Cabin trail, supplies, and information. I emailed them our issues with no reply. I would not stay again on the trail cabins, and very glad we did not try to bike as the trail would be a slogfest when damp and too narrow for me even if dry. Beautiful views up...

The trail was recommended and we did enjoy it, especially being able to stay in Mud Hut. However, the trail was probably at the upper end of my comfort zone. The grade was fine but the track's original width is now overgrown and for quite a lot of it was only about 200mm wide. I think if I had the confidence on my bike that i had 10 years ago (when i was 50) I would have been fine, but as it was I had to get off a lot on the tricky turns areas around the stream crossings especially, and my foot would disappear into the shrubbery and my bike and I would tip into the ditch. A great ride for the confident, and a good ride if you don't mind getting on and off your bike on a narrow trail. The scenery is great - though we had pretty low cloud for much of the ride. The fire wood supplied in the hut was welcome. Mud Hut is very rustic (so felt the price per night was a bit steep despite gas and fire wood being supplied) but so cool to stay in such an old and sort of original (restored) hut. The water supply to the hut did not work when we were there. the tank was full though and we could get the water from the pipe that ran to the outdoor bath. Fraid we did not try that - didn't feel like fluffing around lighting the fire...