Visitor Guide To Tasmanian National Parks

Tasmania boasts 17 of the best National Parks in Australia.
Visit all 17 with a single vehicle pass (unlimited passengers).

Ben Lomond
An alpine park providing downhill skiing in season.
The magnificent mountain of Ben Lomond with its imposing and precipitous cliffs is visible over much of the northern midlands of Tasmania. The plateau is roughly 14 kilometres in length, 6 kilometres wide and is in excess of 1300 metres in height. A summit on the plateau named Legges Tor is the second highest point in Tasmania (1572 metres).
Ben Lomond is the main focus of downhill skiing in Tasmania. The skifield on Ben Lomond is Tasmania's only downhill skiing area which offers some of the facilities expected of a contemporary skifield. For the latest snow reports during the ski season, see www.ski.com.au/reports/benlomond.
The Ben Lomond National Park is invaluable for the conservation of the flora communities and species diversity of Tasmania's alpine areas. The area consists of an outstanding variety of glacial and periglacial features which are considered of national significance.

Cradle Mountain
Tasmania's most visited national park offers a variety of wilderness experiences.
Cradle Mountain forms the northern end of the wild Cradle Mt - Lake St Clair National Park, itself a part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The jagged contours of Cradle Mountain epitomise the feel of a wild landscape, while ancient rainforest and alpine heathlands, buttongrass and stands of colourful deciduous beech provide a range of environments to explore. Icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, stands of ancient pines mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife ensure there is always something to captivate you. The area is one of the most popular natural areas in Tasmania. A visit will reveal why.
Cradle is the starting point for the world-famous Overland Track, a magnificent 6 day walk that will take you through the heart of some of the finest mountain terrain.
The Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park shares a "Twin Parks" agreement with the World Heritage listed Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in the People's Republic of China.

Douglas-Apsley
One of the few largely uncleared dry sclerophyll forests in Tasmania.
From its deep river gorges and waterfalls to its dolerite capped plateau; from dry eucalypt forest and colourful heathlands to pockets of rainforest, Douglas-Apsley National Park is a place of surprising contrasts. This park is one of the few that conserve the diverse wealth of dry sclerophyll forest plants found on the east coast of Tasmania. The crystal clear waters that run through the park are a welcome sight on a hot summer's day.
Whether you want a quick picnic by a tranquil stream, a rugged walk through forest and gorge, or a place to study rare plants and animals, Douglas-Apsley can provide it for you.

Freycinet
Offering some of the most spectacular scenery on Tasmania's east coast.
Jutting out into the sea on Tasmania's mild east coast is the rugged and beautiful Freycinet Peninsula.
Freycinet National Park consists of knuckles of granite mountains all but surrounded by azure bays and white sand beaches. The dramatic peaks of the Hazards welcome you as you enter the park.
Freycinet National Park offers a wide variety of activities. Take a walk to the pass overlooking the perfectly shaped Wineglass Bay or try less strenuous activities like beach strolls, swimming or wildlife spotting.

Hartz Mountains
Close to Hobart, a park with superb mountain landscapes.
Hartz Mountains National Park is a window into the south-west wilderness, offering views of remote mountain ranges as far as the southern coast. As well as spectacular views of a landscape which has been shaped by glaciers during past ice ages, the park offers a variety of unique features. Waterfalls tumble off the dolerite range that runs through the centre of the park and small glacial lakes dot the plateau. The park contains a wide variety of vegetation from wet eucalypt forest and rainforest through to alpine heath on the exposed mountain tops.
The park was included in Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area in 1989, in recognition of its spectacular natural and cultural values.
Take your time and enjoy short strolls out to the glacial lakes in the area, or try the more challenging walks up to the range top. Its highest point, Hartz Peak (1255 m), provides panoramic views into the heart of the southwest.

Kent Group
Tasmania's newest national park, the Kent Group of Islands is as beautiful as it is remote.

The six islands and islets of the Kent Group comprise Tasmania's northernmost national park - located about 55 kilometres north-west of Flinders Island and approximately the same distance from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.
The Kent Group National Park consists of three main Islands, Deal, Erith and Dover. The total land area of the park is 2,374 hectares, while the largest of the islands - Deal - has an area of 1,576 hectares.
The islands and islets have a rich Aboriginal cultural heritage with human occupation of the area estimated to date back between 8,000 and 13,000 years. The islands also have a long European history. The first European to see the islands was Mathew Flinders in 1798, during a voyage to Preservation Island to rescue survivors of the Sydney Cove Wreck.
The islands were used for extensive fur seal sealing, for a period of about 50 years. A lighthouse station was built on Deal Island in 1848. The island has not had permanent inhabitants since 1992 when the lighthouse was deactivated, although volunteer caretakers have since lived on the island.

Lake St Clair
Offers a wealth of walking opportunities.
Lake St Clair is at the southern end of the world famous Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Carved out by ice during several glaciations over the last two million years, this is the deepest lake in Australia and the headwaters of the Derwent River, upon which the capital city of Tasmania is located.
The area around Lake St Clair offers a wealth of walks, ranging from leisurely strolls to overnight bushwalks, as well as beautiful forests to explore. Lake St Clair is also the end point of the famous Overland Track, a long-distance walk which runs from Cradle Mountain in the north to Cynthia Bay on the southern shore of Lake St Clair.
The Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park shares a "Twin Parks" agreement with the World Heritage listed Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in the People's Republic of China.

Maria Island
Accessible by ferry, this park offers history, walks and abundant wildlife.
Maria Island is a special place with something for everyone - historic ruins, sweeping bays, rugged cliffs and mountains, and remarkable wildlife.
Set just off the warm east coast, the island is easily accessed by ferry. Once on the island you will discover a place where there are no motor vehicles, no shops and no worries. Whether you're here for hours or days you can choose the kind of stay that suits you and let Maria work its spell on you.
Further details of the rich history of Maria Island are available at our Visitor's Guide to Tasmania's Historic Places.

Mole Creek Karst
Discover the caves at Mole Creek.
The Mole Creek Karst National Park was declared in 1996 to provide protection for some of the finest and most visited cave systems in the State, including Marakoopa and King Solomons Cave. Both caves are open to the public, and provide the opportunity to take a deeper look into the fascinating world of 'karst' landscapes.
The Mole Creek area is renowned for its caves. Marakoopa and King Solomons Caves are but two caves in an area that contains over 300 known caves and sinkholes. Other typical karst features in this area include gorges and large underground streams and springs.
Both caves are home to a range of fascinating animals which have evolved features which allow them to adapt to their lightless environments. The glow-worm display in Marakoopa Cave is the largest you'll see in any public access cave anywhere in Australia. For the visitor, the Mole Creek Karst National Park offers a range of activities. Although guided tours of the caves will be high on your agenda, don't miss the opportunity to take a short walk through the beautiful forests in which these caves occur.

Mt Field
Tasmania's first nature reserve was created here in 1885.
Mt Field National Park is one of Tasmania's most loved national parks. The park has a wide variety of scenic features and wildlife and offers a great range of facilities for day visitors. Few other national parks in Australia offer such a diversity in vegetation, ranging from tall swamp gum forests and massive tree ferns at the base of the mountain, through rainforest along the Lake Dobson Road, to alpine vegetation at the higher elevations.
The park essentially has two visitor sections. The first, near the park entrance, includes picnic facilities and the famous Russell Falls. Stunning walks through enormous fern forests and some of the tallest trees in the world are available in this area.
The second visitor section is centred at Lake Dobson and includes the long day walks and skiing areas. For the latest snow reports during the ski season. Dramatic mountain scenery and alpine plant communities are a feature of the higher parts of the park.

Mt William
Renowned for its long lonely beaches, teeming wildlife and abundant plant life.
From its long, lonely beaches to its teeming wildlife; from its unique history to its abundant plant life, Mt William National Park is a place of constant fascination. Nestled in the far north-east corner of the State, the park is an important area for the conservation of Tasmania's coastal heathlands and dry sclerophyll plants.
Whether you fish or swim; watch birds or wander by the sea, there's always something more to see in this beautiful national park.

Narawntapu (formerly Asbestos Range)
Discover the peaceful scenery of Narawntapu National Park.
Narawntapu National Park (formerly known as Asbestos Range National Park) is a place of peace for people and wildlife alike. It stretches from the low coastal ranges to the long Bass Strait beaches, and includes an historic farm, a complex of inlets, small islands, headlands, wetlands, dunes and lagoons, all with an amazing variety of plants and animals.
Small quantities of asbestos, among other minerals, were once mined in areas beyond the Asbestos Range, but never actually in the Asbestos Range itself - despite the earlier name of the park. Hence the name change.
Dubbed the "Serengeti of Tasmania", Narawntapu is one of the best places in Tasmania to view wildlife. The park boasts a rich array of easily observed animals that come out in the evening to graze on the grasslands. Some of the animals that you may see include the Forester kangaroo, Bennetts wallaby and common wombat. You may even catch a glimpse of a Tasmanian devil.
Whether you're here for water activities or wildlife; bushwalking or beachcombing; picnicking or camping, you'll find Narawntapu a special place.

Rocky Cape
A park rich with history - Aboriginal heritage, shipwrecks and more.
Rocky Cape National Park is full of surprises. You may only want to make a quick visit to the Rocky Cape lighthouse with its sweeping views, but there is much more to see if you take the time.
Before you know it you're finding out there's more to this park than meets the eye. Aboriginal heritage, ship wrecks, rock formations turned sideways, beautiful hills running down to the sea and an incredible variety of flowering plants. It makes the many corners of this small park worth closer inspection.

Savage River
A remote wilderness park in Australia's largest area of cool temperate rainforest.
Savage River National Park is a wilderness region in the north west of Tasmania. The park protects the largest contiguous area of cool temperate rainforest surviving in Australia and acts as a refuge for a rich primitive flora, undisturbed river catchments, high quality wilderness, old growth forests, geo-diversity and natural landscape values.
The western portion of the park includes the most extensive basalt plateau in Tasmania that still retains a wholly intact forest ecosystem. The upper Savage River, which lends the park its name, runs through a pristine, rain forested river gorge system. The park contains habitat for a diverse rainforest fauna and is a stronghold for a number of vertebrate species which have suffered population declines elsewhere in Tasmania and mainland Australia.
The parks remoteness from human settlement and mechanised access, its undisturbed hinterland rivers and extensive
rainforest, pristine blanket bog peat soils and isolated, elevated buttongrass moorlands ensure the wilderness character of the park. Like the vast World Heritage listed Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area to its south, the area is one of the few remaining temperate wilderness areas left on Earth.
Unlike other national parks, Savage River National Park remains inaccessible. In keeping with its wilderness character, there are no facilities and no roads or mechanised access to the park. However, the park is surrounded by the Savage River Regional Reserve, in which a number of rough 4WD tracks provide limited access. To the north of the reserve, a number of State Forest Reserves can be accessed by standard vehicles. They offer an insight into the magnificent rainforest ecosystem that lies to the southeast within the Savage River National Park.

South Bruny
Situated at the southern tip of Bruny Island.
South Bruny National Park lies at the southern tip of Bruny Island off the southeast coast of Tasmania. The park encompasses all of the coastline and some of the hinterland between Fluted Cape and the southern part of Great Taylors Bay.
South Bruny National Park was gazetted in 1997 mainly for its wonderful coastal scenery. Much of the coast is comprised of towering cliffs, muttonbird rookeries, gardens of kelp seaweed and long sandy beaches. In some areas the park extends several kilometres back from the coastline, where lush rainforest may be found containing several endemic plant species (plants unique to Tasmania). The popularity of South Bruny National Park as a tourist destination is enhanced by its abundant birdlife, coastal heathland and its prominent place in the history of Tasmania.
The park offers plenty of opportunities for walking, from the short stroll to the remains of an old whaling station at Grass Point, to the more demanding Labillardiere Peninsula circuit.
Adventure Bay and Jetty Beach provide safe, sheltered areas for swimming, while Cloudy Bay is a popular spot for experienced surfers.

Southwest
The wild, inspiring country of this park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The magnificent Southwest National Park encompasses over six hundred thousand hectares of wild, inspiring country and forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The park, the largest in Tasmania, epitomises the granduer and spirit of wilderness in its truest sense. Much of the park is remote and far removed from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. For many, just the fact that such a place still exists brings solace. For others, the region offers the challenge to explore areas that retain the same wildness that once characterised new frontiers. For yet others, the area offers the chance to view magnificent scenery from the comfort of their car.
The Gordon River and Scotts Peak roads wind through forest, scrub and moorland, sometimes opening out onto breathtaking views of rugged mountains like the Saw Back, Anne, Western Arthur and Frankland ranges. This is wilderness at its best, and it is equally accessible to those who enjoy the comfort of driving as it is to those who wish to walk in some of the most spectacular country in Australia.
In the southeast, the park is accessible from Cockle Creek - the most southerly point able to be reached by road in Australia. From Cockle Creek, the magnificent south coast is able to be reached along a walking track. From the coast, the South Coast Track continues to Melaleuca, a 7 day walk along some of the wildest coastline in Australia.
Melaleuca itself is accessible by air or boat only. Here, in the far southwest of Tasmania, lies the spectacular Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour.

Strzelecki
This park protects endemic and rare flora and fauna on Flinders Island.
Strzelecki National Park covers 4216 hectares in the south-western corner of Flinders Island. Flinders is the main island in the Furneaux Group, a group of 54 islands in Bass Strait off the north-east coast of mainland Tasmania.
The national park protects rich and varied ecosystems as well as spectacular coastal and granite mountain landscapes. Strzelecki forms an area where plant and animal species found on mainland Australia and Tasmania overlap, making the park of important biogeographic significance. The park is also home to a high number of endemic species, rare flora and fauna and significant vegetation communities.
The park was proclaimed in 1967 and given the official name of Strzelecki National Park in 1972, in honour of the Polish scientist and explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki, who climbed a number of the mountain peaks on Flinders Island in 1842.

Tasman
Situated on Tasmania's spectacular Tasman Peninsula, this park offers superb coastal scenery.
Tasman National Park protects diverse forest and spectacular coastline from Cape Surville to Waterfall Bay and Fortescue Bay; and from Cape Hauy to Cape Pillar and Cape Raoul. The park incorporates several off-shore islands, including Fossil Island, Hippolyte Rocks and Tasman Island.
It is an area of great beauty and natural diversity, including some of the most stunning coastal scenery anywhere in Australia. Not suprisingly, the park offers some of the best coastal walks in the country. Many interesting rock formations can be found along the coastline, while the southern end of the park has some of the highest and most spectacular sea cliffs in Australia. The park is also home to a wide range of land and marine animals, and several species of rare plant.
The Tasman National Park was proclaimed under the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) in April 1999. The RFA identified the area for reservation for a number of reasons, including its high conservation and scenic values.

Walls of Jerusalem
The picturesque park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The Walls of Jerusalem National Park forms a part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. As the park is remote and not accessible via road, the Walls retains its wilderness character. There are no facilities for casual visitors, while bushwalkers are required to be well-equipped and experienced in the often harsh Tasmanian conditions. As with all natural areas, it is important that bushwalkers follow minimal impact guidelines. See our "Essential Bushwalking Guide and Trip Planner".
The region is an alpine wilderness dominated by dolerite peaks and alpine vegetation. The Walls of Jerusalem National Park is very exposed to the extremes of Tasmania's changeable weather.

Wild Rivers
A region of dramatic mountain peaks, beautiful rainforest, deep river valleys and spectacular gorges.
The Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park lies in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It is a region of dramatic mountain peaks, beautiful rainforest, deep river valleys and spectacular gorges. The park is famous for the wild and pristine rivers that twist their way through the wilderness. The Franklin River itself has become synonymous with Australia's largest conservation battle - the battle to save the Franklin from a proposed hydro-electric power scheme which would have flooded the river.
The Lyell Highway winds for 56 kilometres through the heart of the Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Take your time to enjoy the drive through the park. Along the Lyell Highway there are several short walks and picnic stops along the way that will allow you to discover the grandeur and beauty of the Wild Rivers region.
The park can also be visited by cruise boats which operate out of the west coast village of Strahan.