Lake St Clair Walk is a 4.7km, grade 2 hike located in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania. The hike should take around 1.5 hrs to complete.
Hike summary
There are three short walks at Lake St Clair. The shortest is 2.4 km return and this can be extended by combining it with either one or two additional walks. At their longest, these walks combine to form a 4.7km figure-of-eight loop.
Highlights
Watersmeet
This is a short, easy walk, which will take you about 45 minutes return. The track follows an old road that was constructed to allow for limited logging after bushfires in the area in the 1960s. It is 1.7 km eachway, and culminates at Watersmeet, where the Hugel and Cuvier Rivers meet.
Larmairremener tabelti
This Aboriginal cultural heritage walk uses creative interpretation panels to introduce the Larmairremener, the indigenous people of this region. A band of the Big River Nation of people, the Larmairremener made seasonal trips to the east coast and traded along well-travelled routes with other bands.
The walk contains a wide variety of vegetation, including banksias, buttongrass, tea-tree thickets, Tasmanian waratahs, rainforest ferns, and towering eucalypt stags. The latter were ravaged by bushfires in the 1960s. The track follows moraines, which are ridges formed by retreating glaciers during the ice ages. Moraines influence the vegetation types in the area with open woodlands occurring on the well-drained moraines and tea-tree and buttongrass communities occurring in the wetter areas between the moraines. After reaching a viewpoint above the Hugel River, the track descends gently to the rainforest area and rejoins the Watersmeet Track where the Hugel and Cuvier rivers meet.
Platypus Bay
The track to Platypus Bay is a 30 minute return walk from Watersmeet Bridge. This track follows the Cuvier River to its mouth at the lake. The track then curves around the edge of the lake. Platypus are sometimes seen in this area. The best time is early morning or late afternoon.
Route and GPX file
Max elevation: 787 m
Min elevation: 744 m
Total climbing: 99 m
Total descent: -99 m
For more information about this hiking trail please visit Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania
Tips
Park entry fees apply. (Self registration park entrance.)
Visitor centre, restaurant and accommodation.
Supervise children , tracks subject to severe weather conditions all year round, weather may change quickly, tracks are difficult to navigate when covered in snow and may be impassable.
No pets, firearms or bicycles.
Gear you might need
As well as including the Ten Essentials, my planning, food and packing checklists provide an summary of things to consider on your day, overnight and multi-day hikes. Every person and every hike is different, so customise your kit according to your needs. Download your free checklists here >>
Location
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Let someone know before you go
It’s a good idea to let someone know where you’re going. Fill in a trip intention form to send important details about your trip to your emergency contact. If you are lost or require help and have phone reception, call 000 and ask for police. The international standard emergency number is 112, if you dial this number in Australia you will be treated exactly the same as a 000 call. If you believe your life is at risk, activate your personal locator beacon (PLB), then make your position visible to rescue teams and keep warm and dry.
About the region
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania (Australia), 165 kilometres northwest of Hobart. The park contains many walking trails, and is where hikes along the well-known Overland Track usually begin. Major features are Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff in the northern end, Mount Pelion East, Mount Pelion West, Mount Oakleigh and Mount Ossa in the middle and Lake St Clair in the southern end of the park. The park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Gallery
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Let someone know before you go. Register your trip intentions here. Your trip intentions will be emailed to your emergency contact.
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Acknowledgement of Country
Trail Hiking Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we hike and pay respects to their Elders, past and present, and we acknowledge the First Nations people of other communities who may be here today.