Launceston: Cradle Mountain Adventure - Active Day Tour
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Launceston, Australia
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
A visit to Cradle Mountain is a must-do when visiting Launceston. Part of the Tasmanian Wilderness Heritage Area and considered one of Tasmania’s most iconic landmarks, Cradle Mountain offers excellent hiking opportunities in a spectacular natural setting. Your guide tailors your tour to your interests, with the option to take an easier walk to Dove Lake, or a more challenging hike up the mountain. Enjoy informative commentary, sweeping views, wildlife sightings of wombats and wallabies, and stops in Sheffield and at the Ashgrove Cheese Factory en route.
- Explore Cradle Mountain National Park & World Heritage Area (4-5 hours)
- Enjoy some short introductory walks and interpretation to the area
- Visit Sheffield the ‘Town of Murals’ with over 30 murals painted across the town showing the history of the area.
- Enjoy a delicious stop at Van Dieman’s Land Ice Creamery & Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm to refresh and refuel after a full day out in the mountains
What's Included
- National Park entrance fees
- Professionally guided and interpreted walks
- Small group sizes
- Flexible hiking opportunities
- • Food and drinks (please either pre purchase, or there will be the opportunity to purchase on tour)
- No luggage on board, only your day pack
- No airport drop offs
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Hotel Grand Chancellor Launceston29 Cameron St, Launceston TAS 7250, Australia
Our General Meet Point is the Hotel Grand Chancellor at 29 Cameron Street. The pickup time is 7:20am, be ready at 7:15am. The tour returns to this same location around 6.00pm. Hotel pick up is available from select Hotels. Contact the Tour Operator directly, via email, to enquire.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.7:30 am
Itinerary
1
Launceston
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Sheffield
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Cradle Mountain
5 hours • Admission Ticket Included
4
Dove Lake Circuit
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
5
Marion's Lookout Walk
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
6
Weindorfers Forest Walk
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
7
Christmas Hill Raspberry Farm
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Minimum age to participate in tour is 8 years
- This is an active tour with walking involved; a suitable level of general health & fitness and physical abilities is essential
- Not wheelchair accessible
- We provide accurate interpretation, and keep wildlife disturbance to a minimum by viewing from appropriate distances and informing our guests how to view wildlife with patience and respect. Activities are always confined to tracks and boardwalks to minimize negative impacts.
- Hotel pickup time is between 7 AM and 7:30 AM depending on your location. Hotel pickup is available from central city Hotels and Hostels ( no AirBnB’s). Please arrange pickup from your hotel at least 48 hours prior to departure with the tour operator.
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- We reserve the right to vary any trip in the event of bad weather or road closure and will incur no liability for any such alteration.
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Aislinn_H
Brilliant trip! Shout out to our tour guide Graeme, who told us a brief history about all locations visited but also allowed all the freedom to explore ourselves. I was a solo traveller (28yo female) and there were other solo travellers on the tour, and two of us ended up hiking together. We did the long hike to Marion’s Lookout, but both offer amazing views of Cradle Mountain. It is hard to get a bad photo. Would highly recommend! Plus the bakery and cheese factory stop we’re great!
Reviews
4.7
based on 89 reviews
Carolynallison58, Feb 2026
Cradle Mountain was beautiful and we had a lovely day for travel; however, I was not impressed with the tour overall. We have been on at least 10 other Viator tours (mainly Europe) that we have rated well. We chose Viator for their reputation and our past positive experiences with them. However, this day was not ideal. The tour bus was old, small, and not comfortable. The tour guide did not fully engage the tour participants and his driving was we thought, at times, a little risky. It was clear, though, that he did have quite a bit of local knowledge to share. So, some positives and some negatives hence my three-star rating.
leanne_o, Nov 2025
The short walk were great to see wild life didn't do the 6 klm walk as it was to wet saw some wombat on the short walk
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Hi Leanne,
Thank you for joining our Cradle Mountain Adventure Active Day Tour.
We are glad you enjoyed the shorter walk and the chance to see wildlife along the track. The longer walk can be tricky in wet weather, so it is great you still had a memorable time in the park.
Warm regards from The Tours Tasmania Team.
rapyalt, Sep 2025
We had a knowledgeable and professional guide who made it a fun day trip. He made sure everyone was back in the bus before moving on.
Rob_J, Jun 2025
Beautiful scenery, nice walks. We were lucky as it had snowed so it was even more picturesque, but that also made some of the trails slippery and some options not available to us. The dove lake walk is just lovely and then you go on a little wander and can hopefully see some wombats. Only downside is the winding and rougher roads so if you can, don’t sit at the back of the bus if you get a bit car sick or a bad back. Other than that we absolutely loved this trip.
Nicole_S, Oct 2024
Thoroughly enjoyable day, I loved everything, especially seeing the wombats wandering around freely. Dove lake with the boat shed was particularly beautiful. Great day!
Rachel_S, Aug 2024
We had an amazing day tour with Graeme who is extremely knowledgeable and informative.
We had a fantastic time at cradle mountain and did the dove Lake cricket and visited thr Waldheim Chalet.
Greatly appreciate Graeme's efforts and highly recommend this tour.
Thank you!
Carmelita_C, May 2024
Marion route was so worth it, a little technical but do-able. Grahme, our tour guide was excellent! Highly recommend this hike.
MaryLynne_T, Apr 2024
My daughter and I went on this tour on 15 March 2024 with high expectations but the tour guide, I think his name was Graham (older man with curly long blondish hair) was the most unfriendly and grumpy guide I have ever encountered. He did not introduce himself and was not interested in our names. He barked at us and rushed us at every stop. Any information he gave was said in a gruff manner. Sheffield was a rushed 30 min stop for us to get food ourselves. Then he rushed us to cradle mountain and told us how we can get up ourselves on the different routes and said to be down by 2 pm. He did not walk with us but went via a different route to Marion's Lookout himself. He told us to leave by 1 pm to get down by 2 pm. We left by 1pm but was 5 mins late as my daughter twisted her ankle on the way down. He did not warn us that the way down was a shortcut that was v steep. Another girl (S) on the tour was with us and saw him drive off. We were left there wondering what to do when a driver of another bus who happened by then said if you are waiting for Graham, he will come back. S said that she had Graham on another tour the day before and he was just as bad. We were given just 3 hours to do our walk on cradle mountain when it was stated on the tour information that we would have 5 hours. On the way back heading to the Raspberry Farm he told us we had only 20 mins there. He also drove recklessly and overtook dangerously and was honked at a couple of times. He even mounted the road divider/kerb when dropping us back at our hotel. The tour was supposed to be 11 hours but he rushed us so that it was about 9.5 hours only. Graham acted like an unhappy driver rather than a tour guide. I am really surprised that Viator has such tour guides on their tours. Apart from this, Cradle Mountain is beautiful and worth the hike.
Dianne_M, Mar 2024
Well managed day and informative guide. This area of Tasmania is a must to see. By going on a hour you get a chance to sit back and relax.
Mary_K, Mar 2024
This was an easy way to get to Cradle Mountain without worrying about driving and passes. You meet up at a designated hotel. It is a long drive from Launceston to Cradle Mountain. There was a choice of two hikes. It got confusing about which one we were to do and because it came down to a vote of what the group wanted to do, the preference was to do the easy Dove Lake hike rather than the more challenging Marion Lookout hike, so if that is not what you want to do, just make it clear with the tour guide which hike you want to do and go do it. The cost was reasonable for being taken there in a comfortable minibus. The tour guide was amicable and knowledgeable. Value for money, yes, probably a reasonable price for the day's outing. You must wear hiking boots. Sunscreen and a hat a must if there in warmer months.
Sarah_H, Jan 2024
I loved this tour! I love that I got the opportunity to explore this national park! I loved that the tour guide was a knowledgeable environmentalist! I would recommend and I do go on this tour again.
Nita_P, Dec 2023
The sights along the way, the views, and the experience of climbing up to Marions Lookout was sensational. Our guide, Graeme's knowledge was so thorough and informative and supplemented the trip so perfectly
scootrgirl5, Jul 2023
Wonderful tour to Cradle Mountain. Especially the walk around Dove Lake.
Simon, our driver/guide was very informative and friendly.
Christina_P, Jul 2023
Our trip was awesome and special thanks to our tourist guide and his vast knowledge in the history and his friendly behaviour.
Siu_S, Apr 2023
The tour guide is so nice and great. 好值得參與的tour，tour guide人好好，會提供真實意見，會帶你去看到最多wombat的地點。把團友照顧得很好。會推薦給朋友。
YITING_H, Mar 2023
Maximum your time to climb onto the top. Stunning view and nice active trip. Possibly have a mind set for a long trail.
Livia_M, Mar 2023
Second time there. There tour guide know the place down head to toe. Great experience. The vehicle can have a upgrade.
JUDY_N, Feb 2023
Early start for a long day ahead. First stop Sheffield for coffee, food, etc., then on to Cradle Mountain. The weather was good with only a slight shower at Cradle which didn't deter us from the climb to Marion's lookout. We were a small group of seven plus Simon, our guide and we all chose to do the hike. Going up wasn't difficult if you have some level if fitness and views from the top made it worthwhile. We descended another way (Simon said it was faster and yes it was considering it was straight down so a bit more challenging) On the way back to Launceston we stopped at an ice creamery and berry farm/cafe. I really enjoyed the day with a great group of people. Thank you Simon.
Olivia, Feb 2023
Decent tour, cradle mountain is beautiful and there’s definitely much left to explore. Highly recommend climbing up to the lookouts if able to even if the mountain looks a bit misty. The weather changes pretty quick. The clouds cleared as we neared the afternoon. We did a circuit around the lake which was pretty but mostly the same views for about an hour.
YiJun_C, Dec 2022
amazing tour guide (Graeme) who was so informative and humourous throughout the drive. learnt about the rich history of the towns and natural landscapes.
i would have liked to have spend more time at cradle mountain - we were there from 11ish to 3 (maybe an hour more would be nice, especially in the summer) however i guessed it was rushed so that we could visit a raspberry farm cafe and ice cream cafe, which wasn't too bad as well
Annamarie_K, Nov 2022
It unexpectedly snowed…..it was beautiful!
The road was closed so couldn’t do the lake walk but our lovely guide Damian took us on lots of little walks. Saw Wallabies and a quick glimpse of Cradle mountain as the clouds cleared. Ate lunch by the fire and finished the day at the raspberry and ice cream farms. I definitely recommend this tour :)
DVDANDREWJONES, Oct 2022
Perfect day out and perfect weather. Unless you have your own transport this is an absolute MUST do trip when in Launceston. Superbly well organised and coordinated to cater for different fitness levels and needs.
A very special place to visit.
Graeme is an excellent guide and driver and nothing is too much trouble in ensuring that all guests have everything they need to get the most from the day.
Cheers Graeme , thanks for a memorable day.
Demi_B, Sep 2022
Damien was friendly and full of knowledge. The weather started poorly and we didn't know if it would clear enough to see Cradle Mountain, thankfully it cleared and the view was incredible but Damien had plenty of back up plans to make sure we all have a great day regardless of the weather!
Arnab_M, Jun 2022
The food at Sheffield Town has next level. I wish if we could stay there for a bit more. Our tour guide Graeme was a nice bloke, and we had a lot of fun doing the full dove lake circuit.
Definitely going to come here again during summer.
Hiran_T, Jul 2021
Graeme is a font of knowledge and brought Tasmania to life even before we had arrived at the national park. The hikes to the peak and around the lake were both scenic and dotted with rest stops at which one could enjoy the ever-changing views of Cradle Mountain and colours of the water. If you fancy a day of exploration, fresh air and scenery you will remember for a lifetime, this is the tour for you. Please note some sections are bit icy in winter, but this is not a problem if you allow a bit of extra time. Enjoy!
Loriza_K, May 2021
OMG, Cradle Mountain was spectacular, very picturesque. My mum and I did the 3 hour walking trek around Dove Lake, it was tiring, but 100% worth it, the scenery was absolutely stunning.
We also stopped at Sheffields, town of Murals, a small quirky rural village.
We bought our food/ lunch here to take on our tour to Cradle Mountain.
Also learnt some local history as we visited Waldheim, Gustav Weindorfer's forest home, Weindorfers Chalet. It was incredible seeing how he and his wife lived in the wilderness.
We had a fabulous, very knowledgable tour guide, and it was overall a fantastic experience. Definitely a MUST DO when visiting Launceston.
Shane_T, Apr 2021
We had a wonderful day at Cradle mountain the hike around Dove lake was fantastic and the drive up from Launceston was so beautiful. Rita our guide for the day was great she had coats, gloves and beanies if you didn’t have your own and knew a lot about the area. Highly recommended and don’t forget some warm clothing
Roseanne_H, Apr 2021
The walk around Dove lake was awesome, our driver was knowledgeable and a delight to travel with. Jen in the office was fabulous at solving a transport issue. Suitable tracks for all walkers.
Mark_H, Apr 2021
I really enjoyed this 1-day trip to the Cradle Mt. area. While climbing Cradle Mt. isn’t part of the itinerary (the climb is 3+ hrs each way), we did get to Marion’s Lookout, and enjoyed great 360 degree views.
Then we descended the “quick way” and walked around Dove Lake. We covered 9-10km in about 4 hours. It was a solid workout!
Our guide Graeme (hope I’ve spelt that correctly) was very professional, and showed great knowledge and experience of the area. He was very easy to communicate with - on a wide range of topics.
I highly recommend Tours Tasmania.
Emelie_J, Jan 2021
The absolute best part of this tour was the fact that we could choose which track to hike at Cradle Mountain, so no need to go in a group and having to wait for slower walkers. It was a bit hectic but there is time to hike up to Marions Lookout then do the trail around the lake. Our tour guide was super friendly and helpful.
From $122.09
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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