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What is there to do at Cradle Mountain?

Dove Lake, wombats, rainforestThe lake walk under the mountain, the wombats, and the rainforest loops.

Walk the Dove Lake circuit, look for wombats, and step into the rainforest. The Dove Lake circuit is about 6km of flat, mostly boardwalk track right beneath the mountain, around two hours, past Enys Glacial Rock and the boatshed. Wombats graze around Ronny Creek and pay people no attention. The Enchanted Walk, Pencil Pine Falls and Weindorfers Forest are rainforest loops of 20 to 40 minutes. For a bigger view, Marions Lookout is a steep climb off the lake track. A guided day from Launceston is from $169, children $115; from Hobart, $260 gives you up to five hours in the park with entry and the shuttle bus included.

Checked on 28 October 2026.

From Launceston A day at the park, child $115 from$169 From Hobart Up to five hours in the park from$260 Stay a night Two days, a motel near the park from$435

Cradle Mountain is a jagged dolerite ridge above Dove Lake, in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, and the best of it is on foot, on easy ground. Every trip we sell there is rated 2 out of 5 for effort. Here is what fills a day, from the walk everyone comes for to the ones most people miss.

The walks

Walk	What it is	Time
Dove Lake circuit	About 6km, flat and mostly boardwalk, with the mountain above you the whole way round. Enys Glacial Rock and the boatshed are on it	Around two hours
Enchanted Walk	A short rainforest loop	20 to 40 minutes
Pencil Pine Falls	Sheltered rainforest walking	20 to 40 minutes
Weindorfers Forest	Sheltered rainforest walking	20 to 40 minutes
Marions Lookout	A steep climb off the Dove Lake track, with chains near the top, for the view over the lake	If you have the time
The summit	A steep boulder scramble, weather permitting	A full day; stay a night

Walk lengths and grades are Tasmania Parks and Wildlife's published track notes for Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

The wildlife

Wombats around Ronny Creekout in the open and entirely unbothered by people.
They are easier to find in grey weatherthan in bright sun, so a cloudy day is a good wombat day.
Wombats are common around Dove Laketoo, so keep looking as you walk the circuit.

Through the year

Summer for long walking days.January averages 19°C by day in the highlands, and February is the driest month at 38mm.
Late April for autumn colourwhen the fagus turns gold.
Winter for the mountain in snow.July averages 6°C by day with snow on the tops, and the park is at its quietest.
Spring for the wildflowerswhich start in October.

When it rains

There is plenty to do. The Dove Lake boardwalk is beautiful in mist, with cloud drifting across the ridge; the rainforest loops at Weindorfers Forest and Pencil Pine Falls are short and sheltered; and the wombats are easier to spot. The shuttle bus inside the park runs between the visitor centre and Dove Lake, so you can mix and match walks once you are in. Bring a warm layer in any month: this is highland country, and the weather changes within an afternoon.

On the way there

Sheffield, the Town of Muralswith over 100 paintings on its buildings, on the day from Launceston.
The ice creamery and the raspberry farmon the drive back to Launceston.
A breakfast stop at Deloraineon the Hobart day, which leaves at 6am in an 11-seat bus with reclining seats, 10 people at most.

The trips, by time in the park

Trip	Starts	In the park	From
1 Day Cradle Mountain Tour	Launceston	A day trip with a lunch break in the park. Children $115	$169
1 Day Cradle Mountain Tour	Hobart	Up to five hours, park entry and the shuttle bus included	$260
2 Day Cradle Mountain & Wineglass Bay Tour	Hobart or Launceston	Around three hours, then Wineglass Bay the next day. Wednesdays	$399
2 Day Cradle Mountain Tour	Hobart	A night in a motel near the park: an evening and a morning	$435

All four are rated 2 out of 5 for effort. Prices update on their own.

To climb the summit or catch the lake at first light, stay a night: the 2 day trip from Hobart sleeps in a motel near the park, in a private room or a share room for two or three. For walkers with more time, the Overland Track runs six days from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. There is more on fitting the walks into a day on can you hike Cradle Mountain in a day, and the full year on the best time to visit Cradle Mountain.