Famous Walking Areas

There are vast choices of walks with various grades of difficulty. The World Heritage Area covers 1.38 million hectares and there are over a thousand kilometres of walking tracks and routes. Some of the major tracks and routes are marked on this map.
Below are brief outlines of some of the more common overnight walks in the World Heritage Area.

This is the best known and most used walking track in Tasmania. The 80 kilometres long track winds through some of Tasmania's most spectacular alpine scenery and past Tasmania's highest mountain (Mount Ossa at 1,617 metres).
It takes between 5 and 10 days for the average party to complete their trek (depending on side trips done and how bad the weather gets). Most walkers (about 90%) walk the track north-south.
There are a number of huts along the Overland Track but these must not be relied on for overnight shelter. The huts are often overcrowded and in bad weather bushwalkers have perished trying to get to the next hut. Always carry a tent and be prepared to camp before the party gets fatigued.
The huts are basic shelters, their only concession to comfort is a pot-bellied coal stove. These are designed for heating - they do not cook effectively. Fuel stoves are necessary for cooking as Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park is a declared Fuel Stove Only Area - campfires are not permitted within the park.

The 'Walls' is an area of increasing popularity, but one that is often taken too lightly. Many people attempt to do it as a daywalk - it really needs an overnight stay to allow you to see the main 'Walls' amphitheatre.
This however presents a problem as the central 'Walls' area is being degraded by camping at a number of sites.
If you are going to the 'Walls' plan to camp outside the central 'Walls' area at either Solomons Jewels or Dixons Kingdom. Both these areas can take the pressure better. Stay on the main tracks where these exist in the central 'Walls' area as the surrounding vegetation is sensitive to trampling.
The Walls also has one of the largest remaining stands of pencil pines - ancient trees that can grow to over 1,000 years old. To protect these and other fire-sensitive, alpine plant communities the National Park is a declared Fuel Stove Only Area.

This walk takes between 4 and 5 days and is a return walk to Frenchmans Cap - a sheer quartzite mountain towering over the Franklin River valley. The daily Hobart to Queenstown bus service provides access to the start of the track by early afternoon.
The walk is considerably more arduous than the Overland Track; it contains some steep extended climbs and extensive sections of mud.
There are two huts on the track at Lake Vera and Lake Tahune. These are often full so tents must be carried. Fire has destroyed much of the sensitive vegetation in the area, particularly near the huts. For this reason a Fuel Stove Only Area applies over the length of the track.

The South Coast Track is renowned for its magnificent beaches and spectacular coastal scenery.
At 85 kilometres it is one of the longest tracks in the Southwest National Park. Parties take 5 to 10 days to walk it. Walkers usually fly into Melaleuca and walk out to Cockle Creek. Some combine the South Coast Track with the Port Davey Track to make a 10 to 16 day epic.
The climate is generally milder than the more alpine parts of the World Heritage Area, as the walk is largely coastal. However you will still need all your wet weather gear as it rains, on average, every second day.
The track receives regular maintenance but sections of mud, still have to be negotiated. There are no huts on the track (except next to Melaleuca airstrip), so tents are essential.
Peat soil, which poses a fire risk, underlies many campsites on the South Coast Track. To lessen the chances of fires burning into peat (or alpine areas) a Fuel Stove Only Area applies over much of the Southwest National Park, including parts of the South Coast Track.