Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park

Part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, the park is one of the state's most special places, where ancient pines fringe glacial lakes and icy streams cascade down rugged mountains.

The vegetation is rich and diverse including grassland, rainforest and many ancient plants such as the long-lived and endemic King Billy pine and the unusual native deciduous beech. The park also provides a rich habitat for wildlife, including Tasmanian devils, quolls, platypus, echidna and several bird species.

Dramatic Cradle Mountain is the rugged jewel of the park and can be seen from Dove Lake on a day visit. Take the two-hour walk around the lake or spend the day tackling Cradle Mountain's summit.

There are also a variety of shorter walks that pass through beautiful old-growth rainforest.

Weindorfer's Chalet is the rustic former home of Gustav and Kate Weindorfer and is the starting point for the world-famous Overland Track. This magnificent six-day walk passes through the heart of some of the world's finest mountain terrain to majestic Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in Australia.

Cradle Valley and the surrounding areas contain many Aboriginal historic sites, identified by remnant stone tools, caves, rock shelters and stone sources. These can be explored on the Aboriginal Cultural Walk that departs from Lake St Clair at the southern end of the park.

Little evidence survives of the early European activities of hunting, surveying, mining and logging, though several of the present-day walking trails were blazed for these purposes.

The Lake St Clair section of the park is a walkers' paradise, with leisurely lakeside strolls and longer forest walks. Visitors in late spring and summer can witness a brilliant display of wildflowers including waratahs, orchids, banksias, hakeas and leatherwoods.

Lake cruises are available and licensed trout fishing is permitted in season.

Scenic flights over the park are also available.