From the Lake St Clair Visitor Centre, three short trails combine into a figure-eight circuit that showcases the diverse beauty of the southern gateway to Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park.

You can do them separately, but the ‘60 Great Short Walk’ actually has you linking them together, and I recommend this! The full circuit is 5.2 km and takes just under two hours, covering Aboriginal heritage, raging rivers, a beautiful beach, and platypus spotting.Want a short, achievable walk that covers diverse landscape and culture

This walk is ideal if:

Want a short, achievable walk that covers diverse landscape and culture

Are interested in Aboriginal heritage and palawa history

Love spotting platypuses in the wild

Prefer easy walking with some variation in terrain

Want to experience multiple ecosystems in one loop

Only have a couple of hours but want to make the most of your time at Lake St Clair

What to Expect

This loop takes you through cool temperate rainforest with myrtle beech and endemic leatherwood, then shifts into dry eucalypt forest home to cabbage gums. You'll encounter interpretive signage sharing stories of the palawa people, walk to a river confluence, and visit a platypus viewing hide. The walk ends past ancient glacial moraines that shaped this valley thousands of years ago. Wildlife is present throughout. Keep an eye out for echidnas rummaging through the undergrowth and birds in the canopy.

• Interpretive signage sharing palawa cultural stories and seasonal movement

• The confluence of the Cuvier and Hugel Rivers meeting before Lake St Clair

• Cool temperate rainforest with myrtle beech and leatherwood

• Dry eucalypt forest with cabbage gums

• A platypus viewing hide with information panels and a logbook

• Cynthia Bay Moraines – ancient glacial mounds showing how ice shaped the landscape

• Echidnas and birdlife throughout the walk

Best Time to Visit

These walks are accessible year-round, though conditions vary by season.

Spring (September to November) brings warmer weather and new growth. Waratah flowers bloom October to January, adding colour to the walk. The forest comes back to life with bird activity.

Summer (December to February) is warm and dry, making it the most pleasant time to walk. Wattles and waratahs are in bloom. Platypuses are more active in warmer months.

Autumn (March to May) offers cooler temperatures and is quieter than summer. The forest remains beautiful and accessible. Platypuses are still around.

Winter (June to August) brings higher rainfall and shorter days. The walks are still accessible but expect muddy sections and reduced light. The forest is atmospheric, but plan accordingly. Snow is possible, so check the forecast and dress for any conditions.

Track Conditions and Things to Be Aware Of

The track is easy-going with some uneven sections. It's not a technical walk, but sturdy footwear is recommended, especially after rain when sections can be muddy or slippery.

The loop includes some gentle undulations and tree roots to catch your boots on. The platypus viewing hide requires you to sit quietly and wait, bring your patience and perhaps some binoculars.

If you're planning to spot platypuses, dusk is the best time. The hide includes information panels about platypus behaviour and ecology to help you understand what you're looking for.

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This Aboriginal cultural walk offers insights into the palawa people who once lived around leeawuleena, Lake St Clair. The track is gentle with majority of the way boardwalk. Interpretive signage along the route shares the stories of seasonal movement, traditional food gathering, and spiritual connections to Country. It's a chance to understand the deeper history of this landscape beyond the geology and wildlife. 

Watersmeet Walk

The trail winds down to where the Cuvier and Hugel Rivers meet. There are two separate water systems fed by different lakes that come together here before draining into Lake St Clair. Along the way, you'll pass through wattle, waratah (blooming October to January), and occasional fallen black peppermint eucalypts. Keep an eye out for echidnas—they're surprisingly bold and completely unphased by humans being close by. They can be found rummaging through the undergrowth unbothered by passing walkers. 

Platypus Bay

From Watersmeet, the loop continues into Platypus Bay. The track winds through cool temperate rainforest dominated by myrtle beech and the endemic leatherwood, before shifting into dry eucalypt forest, home of the handsome cabbage gum. 

The main attraction is the platypus viewing hide, where you can sit quietly and hope to spot one of these elusive monotremes paddling in the shallows. The hide includes information panels, diagrams, and even poems about platypus behaviour and ecology. 

According to the logbook at the Visitor Centre, dusk is the best time for sightings. On the return to the Visitor Centre, the track winds through open forest and past the Cynthia Bay Moraines—ancient mounds of rock and soil left behind by glaciers thousands of years ago. Take a moment to stop and trace the undulations, imagining the slow icy movement that carved this landscape.

Explore Some More

Lake St Clair is part of Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, which offers plenty of other walks worth exploring. If you have more time, Echo Point is a longer day walk that skirts the shoreline of the lake itself, offering views across the water and the chance to meet Overland Track hikers finishing their seven-day trek. If you're looking for something easier, Shadow Lake is a gentler option. For a more challenging option, Mount Rufus is a full-day circuit that takes you through diverse ecosystems and culminates with panoramic views across some of Tasmania's greatest peaks.

If you loved this style of walk - immersed in nature, gentle, and easy - consider adding Russell Falls and Tall Trees in Mount Field National Park to your itinerary. Hogarth Falls in the beautiful west coast town of Strahan is  is another walk in the same genre, offering that same sense of being surrounded by the forest without demanding serious fitness or time commitment.