Lake St Clair Tas: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Lake St Clair is the southern gate of the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, and the walks start at the visitor centre door. This route strings the short ones together along the southern shore, from the jetty to a platypus bay and a forest river junction, then climbs to a small alpine lake for those with legs left. Everything is on foot; the car stays at the visitor centre. Bring a rain jacket even in summer — the weather here changes in minutes.
The ten best sights in Lake St Clair Tas
1Lake St Clair Visitor CentrePark passes, walk maps and weather; every walk starts here
2The Wall in the WildernessA 100-metre wall of carved Huon pine at Derwent Bridge; photos are not allowed inside
3Pumphouse PointA hydro pumphouse standing in the lake, now a hotel; look from the shore if you are not staying
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4Tarraleah
An old hydro village on the road to Hobart, 30 km away; café, pub and the power-station view
5Centre of Tasmania memorialA roadside marker near Bronte Park; a two-minute stop on the way east
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6Cynthia Bay
The southern shore of the lake, by the visitor centre; go at dawn when the water is still
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7Platypus Bay
Easy lakeside walk from the visitor centre; dawn and dusk are the times to see a platypus
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8Watersmeet
Where two rivers meet, on a short loop through the forest
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9Shadow Lake
A half-day walk to a small alpine lake under Mount Hugel
10Mount RufusA full-day circuit to the summit; only in good weather
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Lake St Clair Tas →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Lake St Clair Tas:
Free walking tours in Lake St Clair Tas
The shore of the deep lake
Lake St Clair is the southern gate of the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, and the walks start at the visitor centre door. This route strings the short ones together along the southern shore, from the jetty to a platypus bay and a forest river junction, then climbs to a small alpine lake for those with legs left. Everything is on foot; the car stays at the visitor centre. Bring a rain jacket even in summer — the weather here changes in minutes.
- Lake St Clair Visitor Centre · The Aboriginal name of the lake is leeawuleena, 'sleeping water'. It was dug out by glaciers in the ice ages and is the deepest lake in Australia, about 160 metres.
- Cynthia Bay · Cynthia Bay is the end of the Overland Track, Australia's best-known long walk, 65 km from Cradle Mountain. Walkers arrive here after five or six days in the mountains, and many skip the last day by taking the ferry down the lake.
- Lake St Clair Ferry Pier · The ferry runs the length of the lake to Narcissus Bay at its northern end, where the Overland Track reaches the water. Going up and back is the only way to see the heart of the lake without walking two days along its shore.
- Platypus Bay · The platypus is one of only two kinds of mammal in the world that lay eggs; the other is the echidna, which also lives in this park. It hunts with its eyes and ears shut, finding food in the mud by the electric signals of its prey.
- Watersmeet · Here the Hugel and Cuvier rivers join just before they enter the lake. The forest around is myrtle beech and sassafras, the cool temperate rainforest that grew across the old southern continent of Gondwana.
- Shadow Lake · Around the lake grow pencil pines, a conifer found only in Tasmania's highlands that can live for more than a thousand years. They do not regrow after fire, so a single bushfire can wipe out a grove for good.
Water for the power stations
The lake is the top of a staircase of water: from here the Derwent River and a chain of dams, canals and pipes carry it down through the highlands to power stations and on to Hobart. This route follows that staircase east and south on quiet roads, past a pumphouse turned hotel, a dam in a gorge, a vanished construction village and a hydro town. Half a day by car, almost no walking. It fits the morning you drive out towards Hobart.
- St Clair Lagoon · The River Derwent begins here, flowing out of the lake through this lagoon, and runs more than 200 km to the sea at Hobart. A weir at the outlet lets the hydro operators control how much of the lake goes down the river.
- Pumphouse Point · The pumphouse was built around 1940 on a jetty out in the lake, to pump water into the hydro scheme when levels were low. It was hardly ever needed, stood empty for decades, and opened as a hotel in 2015.
- Clark Dam · Clark Dam closes Butlers Gorge on the Derwent and holds back Lake King William. It was one of the big post-war works of Tasmania's Hydro-Electric Commission, which turned the island's highlands into a ladder of lakes.
- Butlers Gorge village site · A whole construction village of workers and their families stood here while the dam was built. When the work ended the buildings were taken away, and only a roadside marker shows where the town was.
- Tarraleah · Tarraleah was built in the 1930s for the men who ran its power station, which began generating in 1938. When the hydro company no longer needed the village it was sold off whole, and the workers' cottages are now holiday houses.
- Centre of Tasmania memorial · Surveyors placed the geographical centre of Tasmania close to here, near Bronte Park. The marker honours the early surveyors who mapped the island's interior on foot through country with no roads at all.
West to the wild rivers
West of Derwent Bridge the Lyell Highway drops into the Franklin–Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, some of the wettest and emptiest country in Australia. The road is the only one through it, and every stop on this route is a short walk from a car park beside it. A full day there and back, or the morning of the drive on to Strahan. Fill up at Derwent Bridge first; there is no fuel until Queenstown.
- The Wall in the Wilderness · The sculptor Greg Duncan has spent years carving the history of the central highlands — pioneers, timber cutters, hydro workers — into panels of Huon pine 100 metres long. Huon pine grows only in western Tasmania and can live more than 2,000 years.
- Franklin River Nature Trail · In 1982–83 thousands of protesters blockaded a dam planned on the lower Franklin, and more than a thousand were arrested. In 1983 the High Court ruled that the federal government could stop the dam, and the river still runs free.
- Frenchmans Cap Carpark · The track to Frenchmans Cap starts here and takes most walkers three to five days. The peak, 1,446 metres, is capped with white quartzite cliffs that seen from far away look like a Phrygian hat, which is said to have given it its name.
- Donaghys Hill Lookout · From the top you see the Franklin valley and Frenchmans Cap, with no road, house or power line in sight. This park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, listed in 1982.
- Nelson Falls · The path runs through temperate rainforest of myrtle beech, sassafras and tree ferns, all relatives of plants that grew on Gondwana. Some of the tree ferns along it are several hundred years old, though they grow only a few centimetres a year.
- Lake Burbury · Lake Burbury was made when the King River was dammed and the valley flooded in the early 1990s. The Lyell Highway crosses it on a long bridge, and the bare hills of Queenstown, stripped by a century of copper smelting, rise beyond.
Getting to Lake St Clair Tas and getting around
- Lake St Clair Ferry Pier · The lake ferry to Narcissus Bay leaves from here; book a seat ahead in summer
- Derwent Bridge · The hamlet on the Lyell Highway, 5 km from the lake; the only fuel, shop and pub for a long way
Cheap eats in Lake St Clair Tas
Be honest with yourselves: Lake St Clair is a national park with a hamlet, not a town. There are two places to eat at Derwent Bridge — a café-store and a pub — and a café-restaurant at the lake's visitor centre, all with short winter hours. Bring snacks and lunch from Hobart or Launceston, and you will not go hungry.
- Hungry Wombat Cafe · Pies, toasties and coffee at the Derwent Bridge store, about A$8-18
- Lake St Clair Lodge Café · Café-restaurant in the visitor centre by the lake; light meals about A$15-30
- Derwent Bridge Wilderness Hotel · Pub lunch by the log fire; mains about A$25-35
- The Highlander Arms · Pub food in Tarraleah, 30 km towards Hobart; about A$20-35
Museums in Lake St Clair Tas
- The Wall in the Wilderness · Huon pine carvings, 100 m long; no photos
- Lake St Clair Visitor Centre · Displays on the park, its animals and the Aboriginal history
- Butlers Gorge village site · Marker where the dam builders' village stood
- Tarraleah · A hydro village of the 1930s and its power station
- Centre of Tasmania memorial · Marker for the island's geographical centre
Nature and day trips near Lake St Clair Tas
- Platypus Bay · Easy lakeside walk; dawn or dusk
- Shadow Lake · Half-day walk to an alpine lake
- Mount Rufus · Full-day circuit above the tree line
- Donaghys Hill Lookout · Short climb to a wilderness view
- Nelson Falls · Flat rainforest path to a waterfall
Things to do in Lake St Clair Tas with kids
- Lake St Clair Ferry Pier · A boat ride up the deepest lake in Australia
- Platypus Bay · Flat walk and a chance of a platypus
- Watersmeet · Short forest loop with bridges over the rivers
- Lake St Clair Visitor Centre · Animal displays; wallabies graze outside at dusk
- Nelson Falls · Twenty-minute boardwalk to a waterfall
Where to eat in Lake St Clair Tas
- Derwent Bridge Wilderness Hotel · Pub dinner under a huge timber roof by the fire; mains about A$25-40
- Lake St Clair Lodge Café · Dinner by the lake in summer; check hours, about A$25-40
- The Highlander Arms · Pub in Tarraleah, 30 km east; about A$20-35
- Pumphouse Point · Hotel dining, mainly for staying guests; ask ahead
Frequently asked questions about Lake St Clair Tas
What is there to see in Lake St Clair Tas?
The top sights in Lake St Clair Tas are Lake St Clair Visitor Centre, The Wall in the Wilderness and Pumphouse Point. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Lake St Clair Tas?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Lake St Clair Tas without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Lake St Clair Tas?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Lake St Clair Tas, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The shore of the deep lake.
How do you get to Lake St Clair Tas and get around?
The main ways are Lake St Clair Ferry Pier and Derwent Bridge. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Lake St Clair Tas, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Lake St Clair Tas that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Lake St Clair Tas for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.