Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
The attraction of walking at Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair
The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is a major component of the extraordinary Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, a vast region that extends from north, central Tasmania down to the south-west corner. The World Heritage Area covers 1,584,000 hectares which represents about one-fifth of the area of the island state of Tasmania.
The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is a jewel in the crown of the World Heritage Area. At its northern end, it both welcomes and entices with the iconic view of jagged Cradle Mountain across Dove Lake. At the southern end, hemmed in by mountains and forest, Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake, appears like a transplanted Norwegian fjord.
The National Park is home to Australia’s best known multi-day walk, the Overland Track. As well as being Australia’s best known walk, the Overland Track is also generally regarded as Australia’s premier alpine walk. The 65 km Overland Track runs through the heart of the National Park.
The track skirts many of Tasmania’s highest peaks, crosses exposed alpine plateaus, ventures into dense rainforests and through eucalyptus woodlands and passes beside picturesque lakes and tarns.
Interested in walking at Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair?
The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park offers many day and multi-day walks and there are a number of tour operators offering a variety of walking trips. The day walks are mainly clustered around Cradle Mountain in the north and Lake St Clair in the south. We can help you choose an operator that best suits your interests and requirements.
The best multi-day walk in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is the Overland Track. Click the button below for a description of the Overland Track. We can help you to plan and book your Overland Track adventure (guided or self-guided). We can also assist you with transport, accommodation and travel insurance.
The Overland Track is just one of many Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park walks we can tell you about, and help you to plan and book. Click below to learn more.
Read about the creation of Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park
The story behind the creation of the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park is a fascinating and inspiring one. Award-winning journalist Kate Legge recounts the story in Kindred: A Cradle Mountain Love Story (published March 2019).
Kindred is a well crafted, carefully researched tribute to unsung trailblazers Gustav and Kate Weindorfer who recognised the significance of Cradle Valley for recreational, preservation and scientific purposes. Their story is both a homage to the natural wonders of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair region and a portrait of two “larger than life” pioneers.