Accessible near Queenstown is this rustic yesteryear gold mining hut, built from schist and iron during the 1930s by local prospector Sam Summers. Overnight use of the hut is no longer permitted, but it can still be visited as part of an enjoyable day trip around the Mt Crichton Loop. 

From a car park beside the Glenorchy-Queenstown Road, take the Mt Crichton Loop Track up Twelve Mile Creek, passing a derelict hut before reaching a large excavated area, first mined in the 1860s and later sluiced. Sam Summers Hut lies just beyond, attractively positioned near a small waterfall. 

The Summers brothers built the hut in 1930 and Sam lived there during the Great Depression, prospecting and hunting. After the Second World War, he kept returning to stay for decades more. Locals restored the hut in the 1980s. 

Beyond the hut, cross a footbridge over the Twelve Mile and climb a zigzagging track that offers views over the narrow Lake Dispute. Above the lake, at a junction, keep on the Mt Crichton Loop Track, which descends back to the car park.