Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park

Things to do

Cradle Mountain
Enchanted Walk
Overland Track
Crater Lake
Caves at Mole Creek
Centhana Dam
Lake St Clair
Dove Lake

Cradle Mountain is Tasmania’s iconic mountain and wilderness area that is located 144km from Launceston or 83 km from Devonport. The closet town to Cradle Mountain is Sheffield which is a 1 hour drive (60kms) if you want to stay or get supplies for your hiking adventures in the National Park. The motto here for the mountain is fine one minute deadly the next. So ensure if you’re visiting this area you are ready for all 4 seasons in one hour. The weather can change so quickly , the correct footwear ,food supplies and water is an absolute must.

There is so much to do whilst your’e in the National Park from moss covered ancients, rainforests to deep river gorges, glacial lakes and breath taking landscapes.

After going to Cradle Mountain Visitor Information Centre in the morning and collecting all our information we caught the shuttle to Ronny Creek. The first shuttle leaves at 815 cost is +15pp (adult). The Shuttle will take you out into the park and you get to choose what you want to see during your visit. We chose the overland track that took us up close to the summit. The track actually continues on for 65km and is a 6 day hike through the heart of the cradle mountain. The walk up to the Summit takes you past crater lake or dove lake depending where you want to start your walk. We chose crater lake going up and dove lake coming down. Both ways are very steep although dove lake was very steep. Both sides have chains to assist you with your climb

Once we made it to Marion’s lookout where you see the stunning views of all the lakes up high we headed down the well designed paths to a place they call the kitchen . This hut is located at the bottom of the Summit and has toilets and a place to rest. Here you can decide if you want to continue on. It was such a brilliant day we decided to go to the Summit.

The Summit is a grade 4 hike not for the faint hearted but well worth it. The walk is very steep and you traverse across sharp and slippery rocks whilst holding on for dear life as you push your body to its limits. A few stops to get your breathe and take in the views then up the cliff face again. Once you get to the Summit you know all the bruises and aches and pains are well worth it . You feel like you’re on top of the world. We managed to go on a very rare day when the weather was absolutely amazing the sun was out for the entire day. If you are taking the summit walk and have caught the bus make sure you allow enough time to get back to one of the bus pickups and they the last bus is at 530pm. It is a 6 km walk back to your car at the visitor information if you are unfortunate to miss it. We were very diligent on time to ensure this would not happen to us.

For those who do not want to take the 12.8km walk that takes up to 8 hours there are so many walks around Dove Lake, or kayaking you can do whilst still enjoying the beauty of cradle mountain.

Just down the road close by there is a Discovery Camping Ground and accomodation near by to the National park. Be prepared to pay top dollar as the place is so remote but worth it to immerse yourself in this National Park .