Cradle Mountain Chateau and the Area Around It

Cradle Mountain Chateau, listed here as managed by RACT, is a place to stay in the Cradle Mountain locality of Tasmania. We have kept this page to what we can say with confidence: the setting, the weather, the drive times and the things to do close by.

The locality sits at the northern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and the mountain itself is the drawcard. For details of rooms and rates, check with the property directly before you book.

Where Cradle Mountain sits

Cradle Mountain is a rural locality in the Central Highlands region, spread across the Meander Valley, Kentish and West Coast council areas. It is about 109 kilometres west of Westbury. The 2016 census counted 66 people in the state suburb, so this is a remote corner, and it was gazetted as a locality in 1966.

The mountain, at 1,545 metres, is the sixth-highest in Tasmania. It takes up a small patch in the north-west of the locality, and the locality covers the northern half of the national park. Our Cradle Mountain destination guide covers the wider picture.

Getting to Cradle Mountain Chateau

Route C132, known as Cradle Mountain Road and then Dove Lake Road, enters from the north and runs south to Dove Lake, where it ends. These are the distances by road from the Cradle Mountain area.

Without a car, Tassielink runs buses to and from Devonport and Queenstown/Strahan. McDermott's runs buses between Cradle Mountain and Launceston, though not every day. Check timetables before you plan around them.

Cradle Mountain weather and when to go

The area has a subpolar oceanic climate, with cool summers and cold, very snowy winters. Rain falls all year and peaks in winter. Snow can fall in any month, with an average of 47.9 snowy days a year. The figures below come from an altitude of 903 metres on the exposed western slopes, so expect conditions to change quickly.

February is the driest month at about 56 millimetres, and August the wettest at about 151. We would pack wet-weather gear whatever the month.

Walking around the mountain

The area has a large number of day walks and is one end of the Overland Track. Bert Nichols blazed the track in 1931, and it winds 80.8 kilometres south to Lake St Clair, Australia's deepest lake.

Climbing the mountain itself is a strenuous return hike from the Dove Lake car park, with a recommended six and a half hours. The upper section means scrambling over large boulders for several hundred metres. The whole climb is exposed to weather that can turn quickly, and in winter slick ice and heavy snow can make the upper slopes dangerous. From the summit you see Dove Lake, Barn Bluff and Mount Ossa.

The mountain rises above glacially formed Dove Lake, Lake Wilks and Crater Lake. It has four named summits: Cradle Mountain, Smithies Peak, Weindorfers Tower and Little Horn. Its name comes from its resemblance to a gold-mining cradle. More ideas are on our Cradle Mountain activities page.

Wildlife, plants and history

Wombats are a common sight, and pademelons, Tasmanian devils and echidnas also turn up. Birdlife includes green rosellas, black currawongs, pink robins and Tasmanian scrubwrens, while peregrine falcons and wedge-tailed eagles nest on the cliffs. Tiger snakes, which are highly venomous, are found here too, so watch your step.

The vegetation is a real draw. The deciduous beech colours up unusually for Australian flora, which is mostly evergreen. Button grass and alpine coral fern dominate the wet sedgelands near the summit, and the valleys hold thick, mossy temperate rainforest of myrtle beech, pandani, sassafras and King Billy pine.

The area lies between Big River and Northern Tasmanian Aboriginal country. Joseph Fossey and Henry Hellyer were the first Europeans to explore and summit the mountain, in 1827 and 1828, while surveying for the Van Diemen's Land Company.

In the 1910s Gustav and Kate Cowle climbed the mountain, and Gustav declared it must be a national park for the people for all time. The area became a scenic reserve in 1922, a wildlife reserve in 1927 and a national park in 1947.

Tours and other places to stay

If you would rather leave the driving to someone else, there are several options. The Dove Lake guided hike with lunch runs 10 hours from AUD 265 and includes a 6 km loop around the lake. From Hobart, a 15 hour day trip with scenic stops starts from AUD 250, and a two day tour with accommodation starts from AUD 445.

Other places to stay are collected under Cradle Mountain accommodation. Powered sites and cabins are listed at Discovery Resorts - Cradle Mountain, and rates should be confirmed with the park. For background on the wider region, see the Cradle Mountain entry on Wikipedia and Discover Tasmania, the official state tourism site.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Cradle Mountain from Launceston?

It is 149 kilometres by road, about 125 minutes. Hobart is 329 kilometres away, about 259 minutes.

Can you get to Cradle Mountain without a car?

Yes. Tassielink has buses to and from Devonport and Queenstown/Strahan, and McDermott's runs buses between Cradle Mountain and Launceston, though not every day. Guided day tours also run from Hobart, Devonport and Launceston.

Does it snow at Cradle Mountain?

It can, in any month. The area averages 47.9 snowy days a year, and winter climbs on the upper slopes can be dangerous because of ice and heavy snow.