Discovery Park Cradle Mountain

Discovery Park Cradle Mountain, located in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), is a destination of great natural beauty. The park’s unique and breathtaking landscapes range from moss-covered old rainforests and deep river gorges to snow-covered mountain summits, untamed alpine moorlands, and glacial lakes.

Deep snowdrifts in winter, breathtaking displays of yellows, oranges, and reds over the mountain slopes in fall as Tasmania’s deciduous Fagus turns colour, and lively juvenile joeys and hungry echidnas emerging in spring are also highlights. and the fragrance of wildflowers filling the air as you dip your toe into a crystal-clear lake on a summer’s day in this place for all seasons.

Discovery Park Cradle Mountain | Cradle Mountain Discovery Park | Cradle Mountain Walking

Cradle Mountain is linked with nature, wildness, and purity. This stunning national park is teeming with wildlife, including Tasmanian devils, quolls, platypus, echidnas, wombats, and the very curious black currawong.

The Park has a world-class network of walking trails to explore, ranging from short, simple strolls to the famed Overland Track. This 5- to 6-day walk from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair is a remarkable tour through Tasmania’s alpine heart. Even if hiking boots and backpacks aren’t your things, you’ll find it difficult to resist the allure of well-formed trails that lead to unexpected discoveries. The fascination with Cradle Mountain is apparent, no matter how you look at it.

This must be a permanent National Park for the people.” In 1910, Gustav Weindorfer started from the summit of Cradle Mountain. It is currently one of Australia’s most well-known national parks, conserving a vast glaciated environment as well as the rich flora and animals that it supports.

The rugged curves of Cradle Mountain surround the ice waters of Dove Lake, creating a spectacular panorama that may be admired while walking along the lake’s shoreline. The dolerite summit is one of the Park’s natural features, yet the mountain is frequently shrouded in clouds due to the erratic weather of the Tasmanian highlands.

There are several good treks, including the Dove Lake Circuit, which takes you through the breathtaking Ballroom Forest – a cold temperate rainforest snuggled against the mountain’s slopes. Take the short Weindorfers Forest Walk to learn more about the intriguing history of the rustic Waldheim Chalet and Gustav Weindorfer, the park’s founding father. You will immediately understand why Gustav dedicated his life to securing the preservation of this land in this lovely location.

This popular Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area national park has two visitor entrances: Cradle Mountain in the north and Lake St Clair in the south. There is no direct road link between the two extremities of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

Cradle Mountain Park Conservation and Nature

The Cradle Mountain region is a geologically diverse area sculpted by glacial erosion and deposition over the last two million years. The area’s glaciers have left behind a variety of glacial features, including the Dove River valley and several lakes and tarns.

Cradle Mountain has a mix of plant types ranging from rainforest to button grass moorlands. The region is home to ancient species with Gondwanan roots, such as long-lived indigenous conifers such as the King Billy pine, pencil pine, and celery-top pine, as well as Tasmania’s deciduous beech (Fagus), which colours the hillsides in autumn.

The presence of species such as velvet worms, fish in the family Galaxiidae, aquatic insects, and crustaceans adds to the area’s Gondwanan history. Other invertebrates, like the pencil pine moth, have even older ties to the supercontinent Pangea.

Cradle Mountain is home to some of the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials, including the Tasmanian devil, spotted-tailed quoll, and eastern quoll, as well as wombats, platypus, and echidna.

Cradle Mountain Park Cultural Endowment

Today’s Aboriginal community is inextricably linked to this cultural context.

From the 1820s until the Park was proclaimed a reserve in 1922, explorers, prospectors, trappers, hunters, wood getters, and graziers visited these Aboriginal homelands. Large mines and railways, as well as farms and plantations, were proposed for the region.

The Weindorfers erected the ‘Waldheim’ rustic residence and guest cabin in Cradle Valley in 1912. Weindorfer and a small number of fervent supporters pushed for the area’s preservation, and in May 1922, 63 943 hectares were gazetted as Scenic Reserve.

How to Get There Cradle Mountain Park

The shuttle bus runs seven days a week from the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre. Tickets are included with your Parks Pass purchase and may be picked up at the Visitor Centre before to boarding. To collect your tickets, you must have a valid Parks Pass.​

The shuttle bus schedule is seasonal and subject to change. Prior to your arrival, confirm with the Visitor Centre.

Summer (October 1 – March 31) from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., every 10 to 15 minutes
Winter (April 1 – September 30) Every 15 to 20 minutes from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Access to a private car

Outside of shuttle bus operating hours, limited private car access and parking at Dove Lake will be available beginning February 1, 2023. There are nine private car parking spots and one disability parking space available.

During shuttle bus operation hours, private car entry is not authorised.

Please avoid driving in our reserves at night whenever feasible. You will be sharing the roads with our natural wildlife, so drive slowly and keep an eye out for creatures on the road.

Before you travel, learn about Cradle Mountain.

Road accessibility

Please visit Tasmania Police Community Alerts for road closures. For current weather conditions, call the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre at 03 6492 1110.

All visitors are highly urged to park at the visitor centre, verify their park passes, and ride the shuttle bus inside the park.

Vehicles are only permitted in the park during shuttle bus operating hours.

Waldheim and Ronny Creek have little parking.

The visitor centre and its facilities

The visitor centre is open daily from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. (hours are extended during peak months) and offers information about walks and other activities in the region, as well as park tickets and a variety of souvenirs. Inside the visitor facility is the Overland Track check-in desk.

The Cradle Mountain Interpretation Centre and Rangers Station, located immediately inside the national park’s entrance, houses an art gallery as well as instructional exhibits. The centre is open from 9.00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day (hours are extended during busy seasons).

Picnic areas with electric grills are located near the information centre and ranger station. Picnic tables may also be found at Waldheim, Ronny Creek, and Dove Lake. Cradle Mountain Café and Hotel, Cradle Mountain Lodge, and Wilderness Village all serve food. The Discovery Holiday Parks front desk sells basic food products.

Visitors can use a self-service gasoline browser 24 hours a day, seven days a week; credit/debit cards are the only payment options accepted. Please keep in mind that gasoline may not always be accessible. For more information about fuel, please contact the Cradle Mountain Café, which is located in the courtyard opposite the Visitor Centre.

Drones are not authorised for recreational use in Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service-managed national parks and reserves.

Will you be staying the night? | Cradle Mountain Accommodation

Please keep in mind that the eight Waldheim Cabins provide basic and economical accommodation with a variety of fantastic walking trails radiating from your front door. Each cabin has electricity, single bunk beds, basic cooking equipment, a small refrigerator, plates, cutlery and a standard electric stove. The cabins’ tap water is not drinkable. On Dove Lake Road, RVs, caravans, and trailers are not authorised. Caravans and trailers may be unhitched and parked at the Cradle Mountain tourist centre’s main parking. There is a key collection service accessible after hours.

To ensure public safety, access to the Waldheim Cabins is strongly discouraged outside of shuttle bus operating hours; however, if access is required during shuttle bus operating hours, entry will be authorised through the boom gate via approved “swipe cards” that are programmed for defined time periods. During working hours, customers must only enter and depart the park via shuttle bus. If you arrive within shuttle operation hours, please talk with Visitor Centre employees to get instructions on how to follow entry and leave protocols.

Massage for Safety

Walker safety – alpine treks (for example, Cradle Mountain, Frenchman’s Cap, the Walls of Jerusalem, and the Southwest)

The weather in Tasmania may vary swiftly and frequently, particularly in mountainous places. Snow, rain, wind, and sun may all occur at any time of year, and bushfires are probable between October and March.

In addition to your basic walking gear, you should bring a waterproof jacket with hood and storm front (seam sealed and breathable fabric, Gore-Tex or similar), waterproof over trousers sturdy walking boots and warm clothing when visiting alpine areas.

People have died as a result of being caught unprepared in cold, rainy, and windy weather. Children, the elderly, and those with illnesses or disabilities are the most vulnerable in such situations.

Easily accessible

A new fully accessible tourist centre, souvenir shop, café, tour operators, undercover picnic space, two amenity buildings, and a first aid facility are all part of the Cradle Mountain Gateway.

The shuttle vehicles at Cradle Mountain are mainly wheelchair accessible. These buses go from the tourist centre to the interpretive centre and then to Dove Lake on a regular basis. The Dove Lake parking lot has accessible restrooms.

The Rainforest Walk (which begins at the interpretative centre and Ranger Station) is an all-weather boardwalk that is accessible to most independent wheelchair users. The Enchanted trek, which begins approximately 30 yards before the interpretation centre, is a fairly easy trek for people of all ages. The first part of this path is cemented and wheelchair accessible, although there are a few steps following the bridge. Near the interpretive centre, there are two accessible picnic spots with protected picnic tables and BBQs.

For tourists with limited mobility, Cradle Mountain offers a TrailRider (all-terrain wheelchair). This allows for easier entry to the National Park and more opportunities to see what Cradle Mountain has to offer. The TrailRider may be utilised on a variety of approved walking trails within the National Park that are inaccessible to standard wheelchairs. On gentler sloped hikes, a minimum of two relatively fit operators are necessary to help the rider, with more persons required for harder trails.

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