Best hiking trails in Tasmania
Tasmania is small enough to drive across in a day and still manages to pack in some of the best hiking in the Southern Hemisphere. Roughly 45 percent of the island is protected as national park, reserve, or World Heritage wilderness, which is an almost absurd proportion for a place this size.
I have hiked in a lot of places, and Tasmania is the only one where I have gone from alpine moorland to temperate rainforest to a white-sand beach in a single day’s walk. The trails below range from a gentle two-hour loop to a genuine six-day expedition, so there is something here regardless of fitness level.
📋 TL;DR — the quick version
- 🏔️ Overland Track: Tasmania’s most famous multi-day hike, six days through alpine wilderness.
- 🌊 Wineglass Bay Lookout: A short, steep walk to one of the best beach views in the country.
- 🦫 Cradle Mountain summit: A tough but achievable day hike with wombats practically guaranteed en route.
- 🌲 Blue Derby and Tarkine: Less famous but genuinely wild rainforest walking.
- 🥾 Book Overland Track permits early: A quota system operates during the peak season (October to May).
- 🧥 Weather changes fast: Pack for four seasons even on a short summer walk.
🏔️ The Overland Track
The Overland Track is the trail most hikers travel to Tasmania specifically to walk. Running 65 kilometres from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair, it typically takes five to six days, passing through alpine plains, ancient rainforest, and past several optional summit side-trips along the way.
During the booking season, from October to May, a quota system limits how many people can start the track each day, and a paid permit is required. Outside this window, the track is unrestricted but conditions become significantly more serious, with snow a real possibility even in summer at altitude.
🎒 Planning the Overland Track
- Book permits months ahead. Peak season spots, particularly over Christmas and Easter, sell out fast.
- Decide between huts and tents. Basic huts exist along the route but do not guarantee a spot; most experienced hikers carry a tent as backup.
- Arrange transport at both ends. Since it is a one-way track, you will need a shuttle booked in advance to get back to your car.
- Consider a guided option. Private guided walks include huts with real beds and cooked meals, at a significant price premium over the independent route.
👉 Book a Tasmania Multi-Day Tour on GetYourGuide →
🌊 Wineglass Bay Lookout and Hazards Beach Circuit
For a shorter but still spectacular hike, Freycinet National Park’s Wineglass Bay Lookout is one of the best-value walks in the state: roughly 1.5 hours return for a view that regularly ranks among the world’s best beaches.
Fitter hikers can extend it into the full Hazards Beach Circuit, a longer loop that adds a walk along the beach itself before climbing back over the granite hills, roughly 11 kilometres in total.
🦫 Cradle Mountain summit
The summit walk up Cradle Mountain itself is a genuinely tough day hike, involving a boulder scramble near the top, but it rewards effort with sweeping views over Dove Lake and the surrounding alpine wilderness.
Even hikers who skip the summit should walk the Dove Lake Circuit at the base, a gentler two-hour loop where wombats are so common along the boardwalk that spotting one barely counts as a wildlife encounter anymore.
🌲 Blue Derby and the Tarkine
For hikers wanting something quieter and less trafficked, the Tarkine in Tasmania’s northwest is one of the largest surviving areas of temperate rainforest anywhere on Earth, with walking trails through ancient myrtle and sassafras forest that feel almost prehistoric.
Nearby Blue Derby, better known internationally for its mountain bike trails, also has walking tracks worth exploring, particularly for travellers who want to combine hiking with the town’s excellent café scene, a genuine surprise for such a small former mining town.
🥾 More trails worth knowing
- 🏝️ Three Capes Track. A well-built, four-day coastal walk near Port Arthur with some of the tallest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere.
- ⛰️ Mount Amos, Freycinet. A short but very steep granite scramble with arguably an even better Wineglass Bay view than the main lookout.
- 🌄 Walls of Jerusalem. A remote, less-visited alpine national park for hikers wanting genuine solitude.
- 🏞️ Russell Falls, Mount Field National Park. An easy, family-friendly walk to one of Tasmania’s most photographed waterfalls.
🧭 Getting the logistics right
Tasmania’s weather is famously changeable, and several of these trails sit at genuine alpine altitude despite the island’s small size overall. A few things matter more here than on most Australian hikes.
- Pack for four seasons, always. Sun, rain, wind, and cold can all show up within the same afternoon, even in January.
- Register your intentions for longer walks. Log books at trailheads help rescuers if something goes wrong on multi-day routes.
- Book accommodation and transport early in peak season. Cradle Mountain and Freycinet both get busy over the Australian summer.
- Check fire and weather warnings before you go. Tasmania Parks and Wildlife publishes daily updates, and trails do close when conditions are unsafe.
Whether you have half a day or a full week, Tasmania rewards hikers more generously than almost anywhere else in the country. Start with a short walk if you are unsure, and there is a good chance you will end up planning a much longer one before you leave.
