Dove Canyon Circuit – Sat. 21st Feb. 2026
Visitors to Cradle Mountain are spoiled for choice with spectacular scenery and amazing walks. One that doesn’t even require the shuttle bus is Dove Canyon, starting from the Interpretation Centre almost opposite Cradle Mountain Lodge, and exploring Pencil Pine Creek and Dove Canyon, including waterfalls and cascades.
Walk Details:
From the carpark at the Interpretation Centre, cross the bridge to the start of the track, which heads east, following the north bank of Pencil Pine Creek, gradually descending. There are several cascades and waterfalls on the creek, including Knyvet Falls, about 1km in, and after crossing the creek, a further waterfall 1.5km downstream, just before the confluence of the Dove River. A short but steep diversion is possible to the actual junction of the rivers.
The track now swings south into Dove Canyon, and climbs fairly steeply and gaining 100m altitude over the next 1.5 km. A very steep and scrambly ascent takes you west out of the canyon, but this lasts less than 100m, and brings you to more gentle gradients and more open walking, joining with the Cradle Valley boardwalk less than 1 km southwest alongside Quaile Hill. Your leader may take you further south along the boardwalk, but still returning to this junction, from where the boardwalk descends northwest for about 1km to return to the Information Centre. Rated easy-medium – only about 6km, but there are a couple of steep and scrambly sections, so reasonable fitness and agility needed. The walk is suitable for children under close supervision due to steep drops away from the track in some places.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone or text your walk leader, Grace Hillman, ph. 0490 840 866 to book in. The departure time is 7:30 am from the Door of Hope Church car park, Launceston. Suggested meeting places if coming from elsewhere could be Sheffield at Claude Rd. turnoff at 8:20 am or Moina at 8:45 am. The group should arrive at the Interpretation Centre (Pencil Pine Creek) by approx. 9:15 am. If you would like to arrange to meet the group at these places or elsewhere, please arrange with the leader, and please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of the listed time. The leader must be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
To access this area from northern Tasmania: Roads to Cradle Mt. are well signposted, and the area can be accessed from several directions. From Sheffield, go south along Claude Rd (C136) through Gowrie Park and westward down into the Forth Valley (now Cethana Rd. but still C136), continuing up the other side to Moina. Turn south into Cradle Mt. Rd. (C123). After approx. 20 km, you will reach the Cradle Mt. turnoff. Turn left (still called Cradle Mt. Rd.) and 3 km south, the Visitor Centre and shuttle bus terminus are on the left. Do not turn in there, but continue a further 2km south to reach the Information Centre – just past Cradle Mountain Lodge and across the bridge, on the left. (The boom gates for the shuttle buses are also at this location but access to the carpark is unrestricted.)
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2026 walks calendar] apply:
D Drive distance requires early departure
M Marshy or muddy sections – be prepared to walk with wet feet.
S Steep incline for at least part of the way
E Exposed alpine conditions ; can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped.
Click this link for a more detailed discussion of Preparation, Food and Safety guidelines for Boots N’ All walks.
Map details:
Waldheim/Dove Lake/Cradle Mt area: 1:100000 map is Sophia and 1:25000 map is Pencil Pine (Tasmap 4039).
Map reference: 126845 (Cradle Mountain)
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 4 12 730 53 84 690 -41.68478 145.95140
No peakbagger points will be reached on this walk. For explanation of this challenge, see Peakbaggers List 2017, which can be downloaded (Excel) from Peak Baggers and The Abel Mountains | Hobart Walking Club. At the time of writing, the website to which we used to link has been taken down, along with the 1983 and 2000 versions, developed from the original 1968 Hobart Walking Club version. We can’t guarantee that peaks you have bagged in the past are still on the current version. You can download the 2000 version from our website here [link]. A parallel and more recent but not identical list system is The Abels – also linked from the HWC website, which also contains some other listings of Tasmanian peaks.
For GPX (.gpx) and Google Earth (.kml) versions of the track: Click here to browse our collection.
Direct links: GPX for this walk | KML for this walk
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice. (Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).
