3 Day Walks in Cradle mountain for all fitness levels
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Known as the jewel of Tasmania, the stunning Cradle Mountain is also one of the few places in Australia where you can get the true alpine experience. Dramatic peaks, glacial carved lakes, buttongrass moorlands, along with moss covered forests give Cradle mountain its plethora of ecosystems to explore. And when you throw into the mix stunning autumn colours and the famous 'turning of the fagus', the beauty is unreal. These red, orangey crinkle cut leaves that can be found nowhere else in the world, cover the entire landscape in a golden red carpet. Oh and don't forget the wombats, the cute, furry creatures with the most uniquely shaped poo add to the character of this lovely corner of the world.
Cradle Mountain is rich in walking trails and hikes, suitable for all fitness levels, so there is no excuse to visit Tasmania without popping over here. We visited for 2 days and 2 nights and slotted in 3 hikes and walks. However, despite all the roaming about, we never caught a glimpse of the elusive cradle due to the overcast weather.
Now with three walks under my belt, my advice is to not start any walks before checking off these two things:
1. Prepare for all weather - Pack a rainwater proof jacket/poncho as well as pants, hiking boots, gloves, beanies, etc. You need everything to prepare you for any possible weather event. To give you an idea, in a single day we went from starting the walk fully covered in jackets and layers to removing everything but a t-shirt and then at the peak, rushing to put everything back on because we were freezing. Without proper clothing and shoes, your hiking experience is likely to be dampened unless you're very, very lucky.
2. Make sure to hop over at the visitor centre - Not only can you get yourself a map and stock up on last minute weather equipment, the visitor centre is also good to get advise on the hikes you will be doing. This is important as many of the hikes have several starting/exit points and also options to combine different walks. If you are confident in your research then you can skip this, but despite the research, we still wanted reassurance and input from the experts on the best places to start/exit, and which hikes can be combined to create longer or more beautiful trails.
Whilst there, we did three walks, all suited to very different fitness levels. Below is my breakdown starting from the longest to shortest.
1. Marions Lookout - With a maximum elevation of 1223m and at 12km, Marions Lookout offers stunning views of Crater lake and cradle mountain. Unfortunately for us, the weather was cloudy and by the time we reached the lookout, the clouds had rolled in, offering us nothing. And yet, this walk remains an absolute highlight of our trip. We started the walk at the boardwalk from Ronny's creek which offers such a unique view with miles of buttongrass and barely any trees. Wombats are abundant in this area although we were not lucky enough to meet any. The scenery here is so unique and impressive, I would recommend roaming about even if you are not doing the walk.
This impressive start is also at an easy incline which slowly climbs to Crater Falls, the Boat Shed and Crater Lake before hitting a junction. Be sure to stop and take plenty of photos as the trail provides some beautiful views along the way, particularly with the autumn colours. You'll also get plenty of time getting up close with the fagus trees. The junction is also a good place to get a snack, because from here the climb becomes very steep with lots of clouds to keep you company. Despite the minimal visibility, we were still pretty excited to see plenty of Autumn colours around.
The final section of the trail is very steep with chains to help you up making it difficult but doable and certainly the most fun part of the walk. After all that steep climbing, you're expected to be greeted by a stunning view but as I warned earlier, we were met with only clouds and freezing temperatures that pushed us to head back down after a few minutes. We made our way back through the Wombat Pool trail to make it a circuit and not have to retrace our steps. While this part of the trail is not bad, it certainly made me realise how beautiful the start at Ronny's creek was in all its simple glory.
Was the walk worth it despite the weather? Absolutely yes. Maybe its the autumn colours that made up for it but we didn't miss the view all that much as the journey was too beautiful.
2. Dove Lake circuit - This 6km track will be found in every itinerary or suggestions list for Cradle Mountain. Its beautiful and easy, and can even be managed on a a day trip. For us though, after having braved the Marion's lookout, it felt like a downgrade. Nonetheless, given the cloudy and drizzling weather, this walk was a good option.
Its fairly flat and well maintained so it can be a great option for everyone in the family. We chose to do it clockwise, ending with the iconic boatshed but to be honest this isn't much more than a hut by the water with the mountain visible behind. Regardless, what it lacks in novelty, it makes up in some truly stunning pictures and so it ended up being the most beautiful part of the walk for me even without the mountain visible.
If you're looking to skip on a walk, you can also go straight to the boatshed with parking and the shuttle bus stop available just 10 minutes away.
3. Enchanted Forest walk - Cradle mountain is not only great for the harder, alpine walks but also some beautiful short trails too. One perfect example of this was the Enchanted forest walk, a breezy 1km trail. Easy and flat, meandering through a moss covered forest, it's short but does feel quite magical. It's also a super popular option if you want to see wombats but we again didn't see any. Luckily for us, while we missed out on seeing the iconic Australian animals on any of our trails, we saw multiple as we strolled outside after finishing this trail.
Overall Cradle Mountain was gorgeous! The 2 days felt pretty good because we were too tired to do anymore hikes but it was also the last stop on our Tasmanian itinerary. I believe if it had been first, 3 days with hikes would have easily been doable. I'm already planning Cradle Mountain for long weekend adventures and can't believe it took me so long to come here.
And with this, we wrap up our Tasmania trip. Watch this space for more soon.
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