Mt Parsons – The Littlest Hazard
Mt Parsons, the littlest Hazard, is a measly 331 metres high, but includes some magnificent views not seen by many visitors to the incredibly popular Freycinet National Park. The climb up gives you great views back to Sleepy Bay and Cape Tourville, and the township of Coles Bay too.

The summit of Mt Parsons at Freycinet. Fascinating geology and great views from Wineglass Bay to Sleepy Bay
The walk is not signposted nor is it even on the little map you get from the visitor centre but nevertheless it is a walk worth checking out for the adventurous, with fascinating granite rock formations at the summit.
The walk starts from Sleepy Bay, and the first thing we found as we started the walk was this really nice little Spider Orchid.
Once you start heading up, the views open up pretty quickly. After a short bit of climbing you get a great panoramic view of Sleepy Bay including views back to Coles Bay.
There are lots of cairns and the odd bit of tape on a bush here and there, and it seems a few of the cairned trails may be red herrings – or routes used by rock climbers to get to out of the way spots, but if you keep your eye on the prize you’ll find the right cairns to lead you to the summit. You’ll pass more and more fascinating granite formations as you go.
While its not a difficult hike it is easy to get distracted by random cairns and we found ourselves doubling back on a few occasions. All up – including photos – it took us 5 hours.