Cradle Mountain Overland Track 6 Day Trek – Departing Hobart

Nature Wildlife

Cradle Mountain

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6 Days

Overview

Embarking on the Cradle Mountain Overland Track with Intrepid Travel is an invitation into one of Australia’s most extraordinary wilderness journeys. This six‑day adventure begins and ends in Launceston, but the true heart of the experience lies deep within Tasmania’s rugged alpine landscapes. Designed for travellers seeking a physically demanding, fully immersive trek, the tour follows the iconic 65‑kilometre Overland Track from Ronny Creek to the shores of Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake. With two expert mountain guides leading the way, every step is supported, informed, and enriched by deep local knowledge and a commitment to safety and sustainability.

From the moment you set foot in Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, the scenery feels almost prehistoric. Glacially carved valleys, buttongrass moorlands, ancient rainforests, and dramatic dolerite peaks create a backdrop that shifts with every kilometre. Early highlights include the ascent to Marion’s Lookout, where sweeping views of Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake set the tone for the days ahead. Nights are spent camping beside historic huts under star‑filled skies, with your guides preparing hearty meals and helping the group settle into the rhythm of wilderness life.

Each day brings new terrain and new challenges. You’ll wander through the serene cascades of Waterfall Valley, skirt the dark tannin‑rich waters of Lake Windermere, and cross the vast Pelion Plains with views of towering peaks in every direction. The itinerary includes opportunities for optional summit attempts, including Mt Ossa, Tasmania’s highest mountain, offering panoramic views for those ready to take on the extra climb. The track also weaves through rich pockets of rainforest, past moss‑covered glades, and alongside rivers that have shaped the landscape for millennia.

The final stretch leads you through eucalypt forests to the Narcissus River, where a ferry across Lake St Clair marks the triumphant end of the trek. While the physical demands are significant—carrying up to 15 kg, setting up camp nightly, and hiking varied terrain—the rewards are equally profound. Wildlife sightings, from wombats to echidnas, moments of quiet reflection in remote valleys, and the camaraderie of a small group all contribute to an unforgettable experience.

For travellers seeking a guided, fully supported, and deeply authentic Tasmanian wilderness adventure, this tour delivers a rare combination of challenge, beauty, and connection to nature. It’s more than a hike—it’s a journey through one of the world’s great walking landscapes.

Highlights

Start your hike at Ronny Creek, Cradle Valley
Camp by the serene Waterfall Valley
Explore the historic New Pelion Hut area
Climb Tasmania’s highest peak, Mt Ossa
Conclude with a ferry ride on Lake St Clair

What’s Included

Accommodation
Guide
Meals
Additional Services
Transport

Pickup

Hobart

Reviews For This Tour

Overall Rating Excellent 5.0
Itinerary Excellent 4.9
Guide Excellent 5.0
Transport Excellent 4.9
Accommodation Excellent 4.7
Food Excellent 4.7
Tour Operator Intrepid Travel 4.5

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel some or all portions of your booking the cancellation terms set out below will apply. A

cancellation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation from you that you wish to cancel. If

you cancel a trip:

a) 56 days or more prior to departure, we will hold your deposit amount as a credit (Deposit Credit);

b) between 31 and 55 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 30% of the total booking

cost;

c) between 30 and 15 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 60% of the total booking

cost; or

d) 14 days or fewer prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 100% of the booking cost.

Itinerary

Take on the challenge of Australia’s most famous trek – the Cradle Mountain Overland track – and take in some of Tasmania’s most stunning scenery. With two expert mountain guides at your side, you’ll make your way through temperate rainforest and groves of eucalypts, across alpine moors and through valleys. Skirt the edges of bright blue lakes and take in views of waterfalls and towering peaks in the distance. Camp on the edges of historic huts under star-filled skies, wake up to dramatic landscapes and take the chance to tackle side trips like summitting the island’s highest peak Mt Ossa. This active adventure is one of the best ways to take in this iconic landscape.

This trip is is a wilderness hike, best suited to experienced hikers who are comfortable with the prospect of multiple consecutive days of hiking in all conditions as it involves plenty of walking over varied terrain. Good footwear, clothing for all types of Tasmanian weather, plus perhaps walking poles are recommended. Details on physical activities and a packing list can be found in the trip notes. The total distance covered on this trip is approximately 65 km., You will need to carry your own gear on this trek. Your pack may weigh up to around 15 kg. This includes a portion of the food for the trip and a share of a tent, which will weigh around 1.4 kg., This is a camping trip, and you will be required to set up camp each night. Facilities are very basic (bush camping toilets, no showers).

Day 1 Launceston / Cradle Mountain National Park / Overland Track

Welcome to Tasmania! Or Lutruwita in the language of the Palawa people who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Tasmania is now located. Your adventure begins straight away with a pickup at 7 am in Launceston. Make your way west, through picturesque scenery, to start the Overland Track at Ronny Creek in Cradle Valley.

Cross a small grass plain, passing Crater Creek and Crater Lake, making your way up to Marion’s Lookout for sweeping views. See the iconic Cradle Mountain and the curved Dove Lake. The track continues past the historic Kitchen Hut, with its unusual double story design, and the shoulder of Cradle Mountain, surrounded by Tasmanian snow gums.

Over 700 million years ago, the ground here was shaped by glaciers grinding through the landscape. Continue to the Cradle Cirque, passing the turnoff to Barn Bluff, and descend into Waterfall Valley, where you’ll set up camp for the night.

Day 2 Overland Track

Waterfall Valley is, unsurprisingly, full of beautiful cascades, and you’ll pass them as the track undulates across moorlands scattered with pencil pines, myrtles and snow gums. Look out for Tasmanian Devils, echidnas and wombats – though you may see the latter’s distinctive cube shaped poop more often than the mammals themselves! For lunch, stop by Lake Will where you’ll have the opportunity for a swim, before continuing to Lake Windermere in the afternoon. As you crest the moorland, you’ll get a view across Lake Windermere, whose dark colour is caused by nutrients and oils leaking from the surrounding grass into the water. Make your way around the shore of the lake to tonight’s campsite in a scattered forest.

Day 3 Overland Track

You’ve worked your way up to the longest hike of the trip. Begin with a walk through lightly timbered forest, across buttongrass moorlands to the lookout at Forth Gorge. In the distance the peaks of mounts Oakleigh, Ossa, Pelion East and West, as well as the Du Cane Range, pepper the horizon.

Follow some small ascents and descents into the forest glade of Frog Flats – a wet section of forest crossed by the River Forth, home to some beautifully coloured mosses and fungi.

Climb through forest to Pelion Plains, where the Forth Valley Track diverts off to Old Pelion Hut, built by copper miners at the end of the 19th century. For the next 20 years, cattle drovers and trappers plied their trade here, before the area was declared a scenic reserve in 1922.

Continue along the shore of Douglas Creek to New Pelion Hut – the largest of the track’s huts, which sits at the junction of the Overland and Arm River tracks. You’ll set up camp nearby.

Day 4 Overland Track

Begin today with a gradual climb up to Pelion Gap (1126 m). Here, the track hits a crossroads with Mt Pelion to the east and towering Mt Ossa – Tasmania’s highest peak at 1617 m. If the weather’s right, there will be the option to climb either of the peaks today. Both summits boast amazing views of the national park and beyond.

From the Pelion Gap crossroads, the track passes through the glaciated Pinestone Valley and on to Kia Ora Hut, which sits on a creek of the same name below the Ducane Range. Set up camp in the mighty presence of Cathedral Mountain – this is a truly unique camp spot.

Day 5 Overland Track

Leave Kia Ora Creek and make your way through myrtle beech rainforest to Du Cane Hut, built in 1910 out of King Billy Pine by a trapper as a base for his trade. Further down the track, you’ll take a side trip to see the falls of D’Alton, Fergusson and Hartnett, which tumble into the Mersey River. Back on the main track, the path climbs steadily to Du Cane Gap (1070 m), where Mt Geryon and the Acropolis (1471 m) of the Du Cane Range are the peaks that dominate the views. From here the track descends through eucalypt forest to Bert Nichols Hut at Windy Ridge, where you’ll set up camp.

Day 6 Overland Track / Lake St Clair / Launceston

Today is the final day of the Overland Track. Leaving Windy Ridge camp, descend the valley of temperate rainforest and eucalypt forest to the Narcissus River.

Pass the path, which splits off to take walkers to the base of the Du Cane Range and Pine Valley Hut – the base for access to the Acropolis and the Labyrinth.

Follow the track down to a suspension bridge over the Narcissus River and the end is in sight. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and your legs a rest with a ferry ride across the lake to Cynthia Bay.

Jump back in the van for the ride back to Launceston, where your trip comes to an end, arriving around 4:30 pm this afternoon.

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Cradle Mountain Overland Track 6 Day Trek – Departing Hobart

Overview

Highlights

What’s Included

Pickup