Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia, 165 kilometers northwest of Hobart. The park has many walking trails, and most hikes on the famous Overland Track begin here. Important landmarks include Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff in the northern part of the park, Mount Pelion East, Mount Pelion West, Mount Oakleigh, and Mount Ossa in the middle, and Lake St Clair in the southern part. The park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

History

Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is located on the border between the Big River and Northern Tasmanian Aboriginal nations. Aboriginal people used Cradle Mountain as far back as 10,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Their use of the area was not permanent and mostly involved hunting trips during the summer months. Artifacts and campsites with tools and stones have been found at Pelion Plains and Lake St Clair. Early surveyors also reported seeing huts in the area. Aboriginal Tasmanians faced persecution from European settlers when they arrived, and the last free Aboriginal people in the region were seen near Barn Bluff and Lake Windemere in 1836.

European explorers first visited Cradle Mountain in 1827 and 1828. Joseph Fossey and Henry Hellyer worked for the Van Diemen's Land Company to survey the area. William Sharland spotted Lake St Clair in 1832, and George Frankland led an expedition there in 1835.

In the late 1800s, there was an attempt to build a railway to Tasmania’s west coast, which was only reachable by boat at the time. Engineer Allan Stewart planned a route through the Mersey Valley but ran out of money before construction began. Parts of his planned route were later used for the Innes Track, which was built in 1897 and led to the mining town of Rosebery.

These tracks encouraged mining activities. Mines were established in several areas, including coal near Barn Bluff, copper in Pelion Plains, Lake Windemere, and Commonwealth Creek, tin in Mount Inglis, and tungsten in the Forth Valley. Huts at Lake Windemere and Old Pelion were built during this time.

Trappers worked in the area from the 1860s until the fur trade declined in the 1950s. Hunting in the park became illegal in 1927. Trappers built huts, such as Du Cane and Pine Valley, and burned parts of the land to encourage new plant growth and attract animals.

During the same period, Pelion Plains was used for grazing sheep and cattle in the summer. Wild cattle lived in the area until 1948. These cattle were known to be aggressive and sometimes attacked early hikers.

European settlers considered Lake St Clair and Cradle Mountain to be attractive places. Tourist lodges were built near both locations.

In the 1910s, Gustav and Kate Cowle worked to make the area from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair a national park. It was first declared a scenic reserve in 1922, a wildlife reserve in 1927, and a national park in 1947. Former trappers, such as Paddy Hartnett, Weindorfer, and Bob Quaile, built huts and guided hikers during this time.

In the 1970s, the park’s management was transferred to the newly created Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, following the controversial flooding of Lake Pedder.

Access

Access to the area from the south (Lake St. Clair) is typically through Derwent Bridge on the Lyell Highway. Access from the north (Cradle Valley) is usually through Sheffield, Wilmot, or Mole Creek. A less common entrance is through the Arm River Track from the east.

In 2005, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service began requiring visitors to reserve a spot and pay a fee to use the Overland Track during busy times. The fee was first $100, then increased to $150 in 2007. As of May 2023, the fee is $200. The money collected is used to support park rangers, repair and maintain trails, build new facilities, and hire helicopters to remove waste from toilets in the park.

The Tasmanian Government has approved plans to allow some development in national parks and conservation areas. A preliminary permit has been granted to build an "eco-friendly" resort at Pumphouse Point near Lake St. Clair.

Biodiversity

The Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is an important place in Tasmania for many species that are found only in that region. About 40 to 55 percent of the park’s alpine plants are endemic, meaning they are not found anywhere else. Also, 68 percent of the higher rainforest species found in alpine areas of Tasmania live in this park. The park’s alpine plants are very different from other areas and have not been harmed by forest fires that affected nearby regions.

Animals that live in the park include Tasmanian pademelons, Bennett’s wallabies, quolls, Tasmanian devils, short-beaked echidnas, platypuses, common wombats, possums, forest ravens, and currawongs.

The park is recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it provides homes for 11 bird species that are found only in Tasmania, as well as for flame and pink robins and the striated fieldwren. This area is important for protecting these species in north-central Tasmania.

Fungi are also part of the park’s biodiversity. The Management Plan for the park mentions some fungi that harm plants, such as Phytophthora cinnamomi and Chalara australis. However, the park has many types of fungi that help ecosystems. Most fungi are helpful, and even parasitic fungi play important roles in keeping ecosystems healthy.

Saprobic fungi break down dead branches and leaves, returning nutrients to the soil for other living things. Other fungi form partnerships with plants, such as mycorrhizal relationships, which help plants grow. Many plants in the park, and in the world, depend on these partnerships.

Because the park has many different plants, habitats, and climates, it is expected to have a wide variety of fungi, including lichens. Hundreds of species have already been recorded by scientists and naturalists and can be found in the Atlas of Living Australia.

Although fungi are essential for healthy ecosystems, they are rarely recognized as important parts of Australia’s biodiversity. Many conservation plans at the national and state levels do not focus on fungi, including Tasmania’s Natural Heritage Strategy, which only briefly mentions them.

One of the more noticeable fungi in the park’s wetter areas is the strawberry bracket fungus (Tyromyces pulcherrimus). It grows on myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghammii) and snow gums. The Australian citizen-science group Fungimap is helping to record and map fungi in national parks, including those in Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park. Another example is Cortinarius metallicus, a mycorrhizal fungus also found in the park.

In film

This area was used for filming scenes in the documentaries about prehistoric life, Walking with Dinosaurs and When Dinosaurs Roamed America.