wellness
The best free outdoor gyms and fitness circuits in the area
Hobart locals have expanded access to no-cost strength and cardio stations scattered across waterfront and hillside parks.
How we reported this
Hobart added four new free fitness stations along the Derwent foreshore this year, bringing the total of city-maintained outdoor circuits to seven.
The expansion follows a documented rise in outdoor activity after the June Telstra outage left many without gym entry systems for two days. City of Hobart records show 1,240 people logged visits to the new stations in their first month of operation. UTAS health researchers tracking the trend reported a 22 percent increase in weekly outdoor exercise sessions among adults in southern Tasmania between March and June 2026.
Waterfront stations
The Hobart Waterfront parkrun course now shares space with a compact circuit at the end of Hunter Street. Equipment includes dip bars, a leg-raise station and two rowing ergometers bolted to the concrete path. Users reach the site via the pedestrian underpass from Salamanca Place. A second station sits 800 metres south at Bellerive Beach Reserve on Cambridge Road, fitted with push-up bars and a balance beam added in late 2025.
Both locations stay open from sunrise to 10 pm. No bookings or fees apply. City maintenance crews inspect the gear every Tuesday morning.
Hillside circuits
Further inland, the Queens Domain track near the kunanyi/Mt Wellington access road offers a longer loop with eight stations spaced 200 metres apart. The route begins at the parking area off Davies Avenue and climbs gently past the old gun emplacements. Pull-up bars, step platforms and medicine-ball targets line the gravel path. The circuit opened to the public in April 2024 after a partnership between the City of Hobart and the University of Tasmania’s exercise physiology program.
Walkers and runners complete the 1.8-kilometre loop in roughly 25 minutes at a moderate pace. Signage at each station lists three difficulty levels. The Domain site records the highest usage on weekday evenings between 5 and 7 pm.
People new to the stations can start with body-weight movements only and increase resistance gradually. Maps of all seven circuits appear on the City of Hobart website under the Parks and Recreation section. Anyone with existing injuries should check with a local GP before beginning a new routine.