Below Ben Lomond’s Southern Slopes

Overview

Rossarden is a small upland locality in Tasmania’s north-east, in the foothills below Ben Lomond and north of Avoca. The surrounding country sits on the mountain’s southern side, where open hills, dry bush and old mining ground meet the edge of the highlands. It is roughly a two-hour drive east of Launceston, which helps place it between the Northern Midlands and the route toward the east coast.

The wider Rossarden district also lines up with a substantial reserved area recorded as the Vicinity of Rossarden, covering nearly 6,000 hectares. That gives the area a broader natural setting than the township itself suggests, with patches of protected land around the settled and formerly mined country.

Highlights

What stands out around Rossarden is the meeting of mountain and plateau country with the drier inland slopes below. Ben Lomond dominates the skyline here, and the approach into Rossarden has a stark, elevated feel shaped by ridgelines, gullies and long views across the southern flanks of the massif.

The local landscape also has a strong geological character. This is part of the Ben Lomond granite complex, and the country around Rossarden and nearby Storeys Creek is known for its rugged mineral belt, with steep slopes and broken ground that give the area a distinctly raw look.

Best Time to Visit

Late spring through autumn is usually the most comfortable time to spend time around Rossarden, when the high-country setting is easier to appreciate and the roads through the district are less affected by winter cold. The shoulder seasons are especially good if you want clearer views of Ben Lomond’s slopes and a sense of the district’s open, dry bushland character without the sharper edge of winter.

Winter has its own appeal because the mountain setting feels more dramatic, but the area’s elevation means conditions can be noticeably colder than lower parts of the Midlands.

Plants and Animals

Rossarden sits in country where open forest and bushland spread across north-facing slopes, ridges, valleys and gullies. In the Ben Lomond region around Rossarden, grassy Eucalyptus viminalis forest and woodland is a recognised community on dolerite slopes, flats and ridges, which gives a fair sense of the drier vegetation pattern in this part of the foothills.

Wild fallow deer are also established in this part of Tasmania, and the Rossarden area appears within mapped deer management country. That fits with the open nature of the surrounding land, where forest can be relatively sparse on ridges and north-facing slopes.