Cradle Mountain is an iconic Tasmania attraction – but is the much talked about Cradle Mountain worth a visit?

How to get there

Cradle Mountain is about 2 hrs drive from Launceston and 4 hours from Hobart.

Recommended Itinerary

• Depart Launceston at 8am
• Optional: stop at Round Mount Lookout on the way (not a must, the view isn’t amazing but may as well if you have time)
• Arrive at Cradle Mountain at around 10 – 10:30am
• Visitor Centre, 2km before the park entrance – 4057 Cradle Mountain Rd, Cradle Mountain TAS 7306 and take the shuttle that departs from here for Dove Lake
• Dove Lake walking trail from 11am (should take about 2 – 3 hours)
• Lunch if you have time
• Devils at Cradle
• Dinner

Optional: if you prefer to continue walking instead of Devil’s at Cradle, take the Marion’s Lookout path (it branches off of the Dove Lake circuit)

I wouldn’t do a day trip from Launceston, you’ll be very rushed and loose most of the day driving.

I followed the Google Maps advised route – all the roads from Launceston to Cradle Moutnain were sealed roads

View from Round Mount Lookout

Tips for visiting Cradle Mountain

• There are various walking trails you can do. The shortest is the Dove Lake circuit which is about 2.5 hours.
• There are limited food places so during peak holiday season eat outside of normal times (we had dinner at 5pm) to avoid long queues
• You need to wait for a shuttle bus to get both to and from Dove Lake so be sure to factor that into your schedule
• After Easter the tourist season dies down as winter approaches
• You must purchase a national park pass. Buy this online so you can skip the long queues –  just show your pass when you ask for the shuttle bus tickets.
• Shuttle buses typically run every 15 minutes and stop at various points on the loop – most of the walking trails start from the Dove Lake dropoff
• Most food places at Cradle Mountain only open at lunch (12pm), I couldn’t find a bakery to get morning tea or snacks so be sure to bring your own
• There aren’t any supermarkets or general stores at cradle mountain, I bought food in Launceston and bought it with in one of those collapsable cooler bags with ice bricks

Cradle Mountain

If you want to get the below iconic photo, turn right at the start of the Dove Lake walking trail. It’s about 10 – 15 minutes from the carpark. If you start your walk and head left, this will be at the very end of the walk.

Would I go back to Cradle Mountain?

I think it’s something you only need to see once. To be honest, I thought Cradle Mountain was overrated. Go to the Glacier lookout (just a big rock with a good view) and the boat shed and that’s about it. You can continue doing the loop around the entire lake which takes about 2.5 hours but it’s much the same. Basically the entire walk is low steps on timber boardwalk so if you look to see the view / lake you may trip.. so you end up looking at timber boardwalk for most of the walk.

Devils at Cradle

The other main attraction at Cradle Mountain is Devils @ Cradle.

I was going to go to the Unzoo (in Port Arthur area) but it was super expensive. So instead I went to Devils @ Cradle and am glad I did. Apart from walking trails around Cradle Mountain it’s really the only other thing to do in the area. Don’t miss the baby Tassie Devils near the exit – they’re much cuter (and easier to photograph) than the adult ones!

In addition to Tasmanian Devils they also had Quoll’s which were quite hyperactive and cute. It took about 50 photos before I got a decent one that wasn’t blurred!

Devils @ Cradle have an after dark feeding tour at 8:30pm but it’s quite pricey. As is the chance to hold a joey Tasmanian Devil.

Weather

I visited in April and it was cold. as in, really cold. My phone said it was 6 degrees but feels like 2 (Celsius). I was wearing a Uniqlo long sleeve heat tech shirt, plus waterproof jacket / jumper, then another waterproof jacket, then a Kathmandu fleece jacket plus a scarf, jeans and sketchers. I was just warm enough. Cradle Mountain is not a place I’d want to be in winter!

7am the morning I left – fresh snow! (in April!)

Some autumn colors (in April)

Where to stay

I stayed at the Cradle Mountain Lodge. It reminded me of a cross between a Swiss ski resort and a hotel. It was good – no complaints. There aren’t many accommodation places and they’re all expensive.

Started snowing the morning we left:

Tasmania Itinerary

This was day 7 of my 10 day Tasmania road trip. See the itinerary here.

I drove from Launceston to Cradle Mountain (arriving around 10am). The 3/4 of a day at Cradle Mountain was sufficient for the Dove lake Circuit walk + Devil’s @ Cradle (note: didn’t have a sit down lunch, just ate snacks until dinner).

More trip planning tips

• Travel planning in a bullet journal
• Travel Planning: 50 Things to consider when planning an itinerary 
• Travel Planning: How to choose a hotel (my step by step process)

How I plan my travel itineraries

Excel spreadsheets

Travel Itinerary template