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Cradle Mountain Projects

Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania’s iconic visitor destinations. The Cradle Mountain Gateway Village Precinct is the area’s visitor hub, situated outside the boundary of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and the gateway to the Cradle Mountain end of the Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA).

About the Cradle Mountain Master Plan

The 2016 Cradle Mountain Visitor Experience Master Plan (PDF) was developed as a Tasmanian Government/industry partnership between the Cradle Coast Authority (CCA), Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS), Kentish Council and the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania.

The Master Plan considered issues with the visitor experience and identified priorities and opportunities to ensure Cradle Mountain is the iconic visitor experience that visitors expect of a site of global significance. Management of existing and forecast visitor numbers into the Park and the TWWHA with a low environmental footprint is an important aspect of managing these significant sites.

The Master Plan was publicly launched in early April 2016 and focuses on three key areas of the visitor experience:

  • the Gateway, including a new Park visitor centre and Cradle Village precinct developed on the decommissioned airstrip just outside the national park
  • an alternate transport option to provide the primary visitor access from the Gateway to Dove Lake, with provision of a shuttle bus system until this is developed
  • improvements to the visitor experiences at Dove Lake, including a new viewing shelter blended into the landscape and viewing platform next to Glacier Rock.

The PWS project managed construction of the new Visitor Centre at the Gateway which opened in 2020, the viewing platform next to Glacier Rock and the new Dove Lake viewing shelter, which opened in January 2023.

The Office of the Coordinator-General is progressing the delivery of the following projects identified in the Cradle Mountain Master Plan:

  • development of the Gateway Village precinct centred around the PWS visitor centre ,including improved vehicle and pedestrian movement infrastructure and parking, development of the iconic building, retail and accommodation opportunities, additional staff accommodation for the Cradle Valley region
  • Cradle Valley transport solution

The Office of the Coordinator-General is continuing to identify and secure funding for the delivery of these projects.