There are many ways to get your heart pounding in your chest: falling in love, sleeping alone in a haunted house or hiking Pieries Peak walking track. This short sharp hike from Youngville campground to the peak directly to the south is as rewarding as it is challenging. Take some treats to celebrate at the top while you gaze at the scenic views across Hunter Valley and Lake Saint Clair from the impressive lookout of Pieries Peak.

The hike takes in patches of snow grass, shrubland, temperate rainforest and open wet sclerophyll forest. Bring along your binoculars for the multitude of birdwatching along the way, with species like the olive whistler, wonga pigeon and wompoo fruit-dove in the rainforest sections. You may also see brush turkeys, superb lyrebirds, honeyeaters and flycatchers. Seasonal visitors include dollar birds and channel-billed cuckoos.