The Overland Track, Tasmania: The Complete Hiking Guide

Six days, 65 kilometres, and some of the wildest alpine scenery left in Australia — the Overland Track is the hike that convinces a lot of casual walkers they’re actually capable of a proper multi-day trek. I’ve done sections of Tasmania’s wilderness on shorter trips, and the Overland Track has a different feel to almost anywhere else on the mainland. Button grass plains stretch out under Cradle Mountain’s jagged dolerite spires, ancient pencil pines line the creek crossings, and the weather can swing from blazing sun to freezing sleet within the same afternoon, sometimes within the same hour.

This is Australia’s most famous overnight bushwalk, running from Cradle Mountain in the north down to Lake St Clair, the country’s deepest natural lake, through the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It’s not a walk to take lightly, but it’s also genuinely achievable for a reasonably fit hiker with the right preparation. Here’s everything you need to know before you go.

📋 TL;DR — the quick version

• 🥾 Distance and time: About 65 kilometres, typically walked over 6 days, though side trips can add extra distance.
• 📅 Booking season: A booking and quota system applies from October to May, walking north to south only.
• 🎫 Permits: Bookings open well in advance and popular dates sell out fast, especially over summer.
• 🏕️ Where you sleep: A mix of basic public huts and your own tent — huts don’t guarantee you a bunk, so carry a tent as backup.
• 🌦️ Weather: Genuinely unpredictable year-round — snow is possible even in summer months.
• 🎒 Fitness needed: Moderate to high — you’ll be carrying a full pack over undulating terrain for multiple days in a row.
• 🚌 Transport: Shuttle services connect Launceston and Hobart to both ends of the track.
• 💧 Water: Available from tank supplies at huts and streams along the way, though treating it is recommended.

🥾 The route, day by day

The classic itinerary covers the walk over six days, though fit and fast hikers sometimes compress it further, and those wanting to add side trips to peaks like Mount Ossa, Tasmania’s highest mountain, often stretch it to seven or eight.

1. Day 1: Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley. The most dramatic start of any Australian hike, climbing up past Crater Lake with Cradle Mountain looming overhead the entire way. Roughly 10 kilometres.
2. Day 2: Waterfall Valley to Windermere. A shorter, gentler day through button grass plains and past Lake Windermere, a good chance to recover legs before the bigger days ahead.
3. Day 3: Windermere to Pelion. A longer day passing beneath Mount Pelion West, with the option to detour to Old Pelion Hut, a beautifully restored heritage building.
4. Day 4: Pelion to Kia Ora, with the Mount Ossa side trip. Most walkers dedicate this day to summiting Mount Ossa, Tasmania’s tallest peak, before continuing to Kia Ora Hut.
5. Day 5: Kia Ora to Windy Ridge, via Narcissus. Passing through rainforest and past the dramatic Du Cane Range, finishing near Lake St Clair’s northern reaches.
6. Day 6: Narcissus to Lake St Clair. Either a final day’s walk along the lake’s edge or a scenic ferry ride across Lake St Clair to Cynthia Bay, marking the official end of the track.

👉 Book a Cradle Mountain Day Tour on GetYourGuide →

🎫 Bookings, permits, and the quota system

Between October and May, the Overland Track operates under a strict booking system that limits the number of walkers starting each day and requires everyone to walk in the same direction, north to south. This keeps the huts from being overwhelmed and preserves a decent sense of wilderness despite the track’s popularity.

Bookings for the following season typically open around the middle of the preceding year, and popular start dates, especially weekends through the peak summer months, can sell out within days. If your trip dates are flexible, booking a weekday start noticeably improves your odds of getting the date you want.

Outside the booked season, from June to September, the quota system doesn’t apply, walking is allowed in either direction, and fees are lower — but this comes with a serious trade-off: winter conditions on the track are genuinely harsh, with snow, ice, and short daylight hours demanding a much higher level of experience and gear.

🏕️ Huts, camping, and what to expect at night

Public huts are spaced along the route and provide basic shelter, sleeping platforms, and in most cases a composting toilet nearby. What they don’t guarantee is a bunk — huts operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and during busy periods you may find yourself pitching a tent outside instead. For this reason, every walker is required to carry a tent regardless of how confident they feel about hut space.

There’s also a private hut option along the route, run by a commercial operator, offering proper beds, cooked meals, and hot showers for those wanting a more comfortable version of the trek — at a significantly higher price than the standard public infrastructure.

🎒 What to pack

• ⛺ A three or four season tent. Even in the booked summer season, wind and rain can be intense enough that a flimsy tent won’t cut it.
• 🧥 Genuine wet weather gear. Tasmanian mountain weather changes fast — a proper waterproof jacket and pants aren’t optional.
• 🥾 Broken-in hiking boots. Sections of the track get muddy and root-strewn; ankle support matters over six days.
• 🍜 Lightweight dehydrated meals. You’re carrying everything you eat, so weight-efficient food makes a real difference by day four.
• 🔥 A reliable stove. Fires aren’t permitted along the track, so a camping stove is essential for hot food and drinks.
• 🧊 A cold-rated sleeping bag. Even summer nights at altitude can drop close to freezing.

👉 Book a Lake St Clair Ferry Ticket on GetYourGuide →

⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid

1. Underestimating the weather. Snow in January isn’t unheard of on this track — pack for genuine alpine conditions regardless of the season.
2. Booking too late. Popular start dates disappear months ahead — book as soon as the season opens if your dates are fixed.
3. Skipping the tent because “there’ll be room in the huts.” Huts fill up fast during peak weeks and a tent is compulsory gear for exactly this reason.
4. Overpacking food. Carrying six days of heavy food adds up fast — dehydrated, lightweight meals make a genuine difference to how your legs feel by day four.
5. Skipping the side trips to save time. Mount Ossa and several other detours are some of the best parts of the whole track — build extra time into your itinerary rather than rushing straight through.

🧭 Is the Overland Track right for you?

You don’t need to be an elite athlete, but you do need to be realistically fit, comfortable carrying a loaded pack for multiple consecutive days, and genuinely prepared for changeable weather. If that sounds like you, few walks in Australia reward the effort as generously — six days of genuine wilderness, ancient forests, and some of the most striking alpine scenery the country has to offer.

🌲 The landscapes you’ll actually walk through

Part of what makes the Overland Track so special is how much the scenery shifts over the six days. You start beneath the jagged dolerite spires of Cradle Mountain, a landscape that looks almost alpine European in character, before dropping into wide button grass plains that stretch for kilometres, dotted with ancient pencil pines that can be well over a thousand years old.

Further south, the track passes through pockets of genuine cool temperate rainforest, all moss-covered logs and filtered green light, before opening out again near Du Cane Range with views back over some of the wildest country left in Tasmania. By the final day, walking beside Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest natural lake, the terrain has softened into something closer to classic lakeside bushland — a fitting, gentler close to a walk that covers so much varied ground.

🦘 Wildlife you might encounter

Wombats are a genuine highlight for many walkers, often seen grazing unbothered near the huts in the early morning or evening. Bennett’s wallabies and pademelons are common throughout, and if you’re lucky and quiet, you might spot an echidna shuffling through the undergrowth. At night, listen for the calls of Tasmanian nightjars and, if you’re really fortunate, catch a glimpse of the elusive Tasmanian devil, though sightings are rare given how shy and nocturnal they are.

🥾 Fitness and preparation

You don’t need to be an ultramarathon runner, but you do need genuine hiking fitness. Most days involve five to seven hours of walking with a loaded pack over undulating terrain, and the cumulative fatigue by day four or five catches out walkers who haven’t done any training beforehand.

1. Start training at least two months out. Regular walks with a loaded pack, ideally on hilly terrain, will make a genuine difference to how your body copes with back-to-back walking days.
2. Break in your boots properly. New boots on day one of a six-day hike is a recipe for blisters that can genuinely derail your trip.
3. Practice with your full pack weight. A pack that feels fine empty can feel very different once loaded with a week’s worth of food, a tent, and wet weather gear.
4. Build in rest. If your schedule allows, an extra day at one of the huts partway through gives tired legs a genuine chance to recover.

🚌 Getting to and from the trailheads

Shuttle bus services run from both Launceston and Hobart to the Cradle Mountain start and from Lake St Clair back to civilisation at the end, which means you don’t need your own vehicle for the trip. Many walkers base themselves in Launceston beforehand, given its closer proximity to Cradle Mountain, then fly out of Hobart after finishing at Lake St Clair, or vice versa if walking the less common southbound route in the off-season.

Book your shuttle transport at the same time as your track pass if you can — services run on a fairly fixed schedule tied to typical walking times, and popular departure days can fill up during peak season.

🧻 Leave No Trace on the track

The Overland Track passes through genuine wilderness, and keeping it that way depends on every walker following Leave No Trace principles carefully. Carry out everything you carry in, including all rubbish and food scraps, use the composting toilets provided rather than digging your own, and stick to formed tracks even when the button grass plains look inviting to cut across — trampling causes damage that can take years to recover in this fragile alpine environment.

Fires are banned along the entire length of the track, so a reliable camping stove isn’t just a comfort item, it’s essential gear for hot food and drinks. Following these basics isn’t just about rules — it’s what keeps this walk feeling as wild in ten years as it does today.

Finishing the walk at Lake St Clair, most people choose to take the short ferry ride across the lake to Cynthia Bay rather than the final few hours of walking along the shore. Either way, that first hot shower and proper meal back at civilisation tastes better than almost anything, and the sense of achievement carries a satisfaction that’s hard to match with any shorter walk.

Whatever else you take away from six days on the track, most walkers say the same thing afterwards: the disconnection is the real gift. No phone signal, no schedule beyond the next hut, just the weather, the pack on your back, and some of the last true wilderness left in Australia.