Everything you need to know about Cradle Mountain: The best hikes in Cradle Mountain

I decided to write a separate blog on Cradle Mountain to my complete guide to the lap of Tasmania (click here) on how to get to Cradle Mountain, what to expect, where to stay and eat and most importantly, what hikes to do for the time you have.

Cradle mountain is a hikers dream, it is where the Overland Track, a 80 km multi day hiking trial starts from and ends the other side of the National Park in Lake St Clair. 

If the Overland Track isn’t for you and you like the comforts of a hot shower and comfy bed at the end of a days hiking,  Cradle Mountain has so much to offer. You could spend a week here between both sides of the park. There are a plethora of day walks ranging from 19 km to a cruise 2km loop. 

Cradle Mountain is a huge National Park and unless you are planning on doing the Overland Track (6 days), you will have to visit the Cradle Mountain side of the park and then drive to the Lake St Clair side of the park to explore this. If you are big into your hiking, I would suggest giving one full day at least to each side of the park to see the the best parts of the National Park and to complete the best day hikes. 

Getting here

It is almost a 4 hour drive form Hobart airport and 2 hours from Launceston. Despite sharing the same national park, Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair are almost a 3 hour drive from each other so both side cannot be seen on the same day. You are best to hire a car to explore the national parks and be able to hike at your own pace.

Things you need to know:

• You cannot drive up to Dove Lake or Ronny Creak during the period the shuttle buses run. So if you drive up before 8.15 am, you will be stuck there until 6pm that day. 

• There is parking at Dove Lake and Ronny’s Creak if you plan to be there all day (before 8.15 until after 6 pm) or you want to go to Dove Lake for sunrise or sunset. 

• You must purchase a parks pass ($80 for 1 month, $40 for a week?) to access Cradle Mountain and any of the other National Parks. One parks pass covers one vehicle and all passengers in the vehicle. 

• The shuttle bus goes from Cradle Mountain visitor centre every 10 minutes from 8.15 am-6pm (hours may change during the winter). It is free once you show your parks pass. To board the bus bound for the National Park you must first get a white slip for the bus in the visitor centre once you show your parks pass. The shuttle bus stops at the interpretation centre (King Billy Pine and Enchanted walks), Ronny Creak and Dove Lake. You can hop on/off the bus as many times per day. 

• There are no rubbish bins, water or food in the national park. Take everything out of the part with you and bring all the water and food you need. 

• There are toilets at the interpretation centre and at the Dove Lake carpark. There are no other toilets when on the walking trials. 

• There are very few options for accommodation in or around the national park thus the few options book up in advance. We made the mistake of winging it and not booking ahead and had to drive 25 minutes away from the visitor centre to a free campsite with no facilities. 

Accommodation

• Discovery Holiday Parks Cradle Mountain: Dorms, basic cabins, powered and unpowered sites with camp kitchen, laundry and great hot showers. You pay above the norm for even an unpowered site but you are paying for its unrivalled location, it’s 1 minute drive away from the visitor centre. 

• Peppers on Cradle Mountain Lodge if are looking for upmarket accommodation on Cradle Mountain with a good restaurant, comfy beds, a spa to relax in after a day of hiking and a cosy fire place right on the edge of the world heritage site, this is the place. If you have a the budget or want to treat yourself, I would recommend staying here but book well in advance as it’s near impossible to get a booking here in high season. Rooms start at $600 pp sharing. Click here to book.

Eating

The visitor centre has a good cafe serving hot food, coffee, snacks and drinks. The discovery parks has a small general store with basically groceries. 

• Hellyers Restaurant: just before the visitor centre is a fine restaurant serving dinner (6-10pm) and snacks in the long bar (2-10pm) Tuesday- Saturday. 

• Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge: Decent pub grub served at above average prices at the mouth of the national park. Lovely place for a drink, hot soup and cosy up by the fire to warm up after a day of hiking. 

Here are some of the best day walks so you can pick which ones and what you have time for: 

Cradle Mountain  

• Enchanted walk: A gorgeous, easy 20 minute walk along a board walk through forest and by the river. Suitable for young children and you might see a wombat or pademelon on the way. 

• King Billy walk: a 40 minute circuit through a beautiful section of rainforest featuring large and old King Billy pines.

• Knyvet Falls: An easy 45 min boardwalk starting opposite Cradle Mountain Lodge brings you through rainforest to the base of Pencil Pine Falls and on top of the Knyvet Falls. 

• Cradle Valley Boardwalk. An easy walk along the boardwalk from the interpretation centre to either Ronny Creek (2 hrs one way) or Dove Lake (3 hours/8km). 

• Crater Lake Circuit: This is a beautiful walk taking you past waterfalls, lakes and forests. It heads down to Crater Lake passing Wombat Pool, descends via the Overland Track and then Lake Lilia Track back to Dove Lake. It takes between 2-3 hours depending on how fast you walk and how many photos you stop to take. You may see some wombats on your way to Ronny Creek along the board walk.

• Dove Lake Circuit: This is an easy 6 km walk which take your round the perimeter of Dove Lake. You can start or end the walk near the Dove Lake Boat shed and see one of the most photographed scenes in Tasmania, the reflection one Cradle Mountain over Dove lake. It is best in the morning, even better for sunrise and so calm and still. Try get there before the crowds begin to descend after the first buses arrive at about 8.30 am. We got here at 9 am and we had it to ourselves. The walk is mostly flat on a board walk and will take about 2 hours. 

You can combine both the Dove Lake circuit and the Crater circuit walks for a nice 4 hour walk that is not overly difficult. Head on the Dove Lake Circuit in an anti-clockwise direction, head on to the Lake Lilia Track from the Dove Lake boat shed. From Lake Lila head up to Crater Lake via Wombat Pool, descend via the Overland Track finishing up at Ronny Creek. 

• Marions Lookout (via Crater Lake): A steep upward climb brings you past Crater Lake and rewards you with one of Tasmania’s best lookouts. Allow 2.5 hours return. 

• Hanson’s Peak: This is not a very long walk but is quite steep in parts. It’s one of the most underrated hikes in Cradle Mountain and gives the best views of Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake. This is a more challenging walk which is steep in part, there is a chain to help on the steeper parts. From Dove Lake car park head anti-clockwise towards Hanson’s peak, then it will take you down via Willis Lake track and finish on the Dove Lake circuit to the boat shed. The circuit is 7km and allow 3-4 hours.

• Cradle Mountain Circuit: The mammoth walk on this side, certainly not easy or for anyone not comfortable scaling boulders or who is unsteady on their feet. If you are fit and up for a challenge I would recommend doing this walk at it takes in the best three walks (and most challenging) and peaks of this side of the park. You need to leave 6-7 hours for this hike, bring an extra layer for the top and plenty of water. The route is 13 km in total and takes in Dove Lake boat shed, Marion’s lookout, Hanson’s peak and Cradle Mountain summit. The most difficult part of the walk is Cradle Mountain Summit by far and the last hour requires climbing over boulders and loose rocks, but the views are worth it. 

Lake St Clair 

Lake St Clair is the other side of the national park which takes 3 hours to drive or several days on the Overland Track. Lake St Clair is the end of the Overland Track and you will see plenty of grubby and tired bodies at the visitor centre. It is the deepest lake in Australia, carved by ice during several glaciations over the last two million years.

Things you need to know

• You need a parks pass to enter and must display it in the visitor centre car park.
• There are free hot showers (open from 10-4pm).
• There is no shuttle bus here and once you park at the visitor centre, you can head straight out on the hiking trails.
• There is a private ferry service that operates on Lake St Clair carrying passengers from Cynthia Bay to Echo Point and Narcissus Bay (the far end of the lake). It is a nice way of doing part of the Overland Track back to the visitor centre but bookings are essential and the ferry is not cheap ($50 one way from Cynthia Bay to Narcissus Bay).
• There are some short walks (<1 hour and very easy) up to longer walks (19km) which take the day.
• There are no facilities, bins, fresh filtered water or opportunities to buy food once you start on the trails so stock up at the visitor centre and take all your rubbish home with you.

Accommodation

• Lake St Clair Lodge offers beautiful luxury cabin accommodation, dorm style and camping facilities right beside the visitor centre. Book ahead as it gets busy during peak hiking season. Prices start from $270 for a studio cabin. Click Here for more information the lodge has.

• Lake St Clair Traveller Lodge offers basic bunk houses where you must supply your own bedding, powered and unpowered campsites with a camp kitchen, toilets, laundry and showers. Showers cost $1 for 6 minutes.
• The campsite Prices start from $37 for unpowered sites. Prices for powered sites start from $43. They also offer a bunk house for a shared 2 to 4 berth cabin prices start from $61. Click here to check availability.

• There is also a free campsite Lake King William that is 10 minute drive from the visitor centre. It comes up on google maps just a few minutes off the Lyell Hwy.

Walks

Day hikes

• Mount Rufus circuit: The longest day hike at 19 km, allow 6-7 hours. It is not a particularly difficult or steep hike but long. It can be windy and cold at the peak of Mount Rufus so bring a jacket even if it is a warm day.

• Shadow Lake Circuit: A pleasant 12 km walk that takes 4 hours to complete. The trail is clearly marked and mostly well maintained underfoot. It is quite flat, gaining a total elevation of 270m throughout its duration.
• Little Hugel: A 18 km walk, allow 6 hours, that gives panoramic views of Lake St Clair, Mt Olympus, Mt Byron and Mt Hugel from the top of a rocky peak. The first section of this walk follows the Shadow Lake Circuit, but then splits towards Little Hugel once it reaches Shadow Lake. An intermediate walk with some challenging boulder hopping involved.
• Echo point/ Narcissus Hut: The other day walk is Echo Point (11km, 3/4 hrs) or Narcissus Hut (16 km, 5-6). You can either hike first and catch the ferry back to the visitor centre or the other way round. The ferry ride is $50 on way from St Clair Information centre to Echo point. The trial is the end of the Overland Track and well maintained.The ferry books out ahead so book in advance.

Shorter day walks

• Platypus Bay circuit. A nice easy 20 minute walk circuit from the trail head (1 hour from the visitor centre) taking you by the lake. You might get the chance to see a platypus too.

• Watersmeet: An easy 45 minute walk to the junction where the Platypus Bay circuit walk starts. It takes you through eucalypt and then rainforest to the junction where the Cuvier and Hugel Rivers meet.

• Larmairremener tabelti, Aboriginal cultural walk: 1 hour return from the visitor centre. This walk recognises the indigenous people of the region.

Eat

The Lake St Clair Lodge has a nice restaurant and pub attached serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good hot food served and hearty meals with an Irish influence after a day of hiking although slightly over priced (were talking $7 for a large coffee) but then you are a captive audience.

Hope you enjoy this magnificent national park and all the beautiful hikes it has to offer.