Marions Lookout

Warning!

Marions Lookout is over 1200m and weather at Cradle Mountain varies quickly. Always be prepared with warm clothes and wet weather gear. Snow may fall at any time of year.

Getting there

Marions Lookout is accessible from either Ronny Creek or Dove Lake. Take the free shuttle bus to either of these locations from the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre.

Maps

TasMaps publish a topographic map of the area but it is not necessary for this walk. A free tourist map is available from the visitor centre.

Route/Trail notes

There are three main routes up to Marions Lookout - via the Overland Track past Crater Lake, from Dove Lake past Wombat Pool or the steep direct ascent from the Dove Lake Circuit. The standard route goes past Crater Lake and Wombat Pool and can be done in either direction.

Starting from Ronny Creek follow the boardwalk beside Ronny Creek. Cross the bridge and continue straight ahead towards Crater Lake, ignoring turnoffs to the Waldheim Cabins, Lake Lilla and the Horse Track. As it climbs the track passes through a stand of rainforest beside Crater Creek until it reaches Crater Falls.

From here the track climbs out of the rainforest and meets Crater Lake at its boatshed on the northern end. After admiring the view of crater lake (which despite the name is not in a crater, but rather carved by glaciers) follow the track as it climbs to the saddle between Marions Lookout and Wombat Peak.

At the intersection turn right and start the final ascent to Marions Lookout. A metal chain is provided to assist with the steepest part of the climb but should not cause any trouble for experienced bushwalkers. However, care must be taken in the rain and snow which is common in the area as the track may be quite slippery.

After admiring the views retrace your steps to the intersection in the saddle. At this point continue straight ahead onto the Wombat Track rather than turning left back to Crater Lake. Follow the track downhill past Wombat Pool and Lake Lilla until you meet the Lake Lilla Track. Turning right here will take you to the Dove Lake Carpark or you can turn left to complete the Lake Lilla Track which takes you back to Ronny Creek.

Permits/Costs

All walks at Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park require a National Park Pass. Passes may be purchased from the visitor centre.

GPS Tracks

No GPS available for this walk yet.

Comments

We started this walk at Ronny Creek, paused on Marion’s Lookout for a bottle of Veuve to celebrate our birthday then walked back to Ronny Creek via the wombat pool. Plenty of wombats and what us Queenslanders would call snow ❄️ ⛄️ It was an amazing experience to walk this in winter with snow falling 🥶🌟 just over 10km all up in under 3hrs.
S K on 28 Jul, 2022

We did this hike from Dove Lake via Lake Lilla, Wombat Pool and Crater Lake. We decided to continue on to the Kitchen Hut as the weather was fine, but the cloud came over quickly and we had lunch there and turned back. There were some patches of ice/snow left around from the last fall a few days ago. We returned to the Ronny creek car park via Ronny Creek and saw heaps of wombats on the grassy field near the bus pickup area. Total walk was 12.3km.
Robyn on 13 Jun, 2021

One of my favourite walks of all time. Bring a windproof/ waterproof jacket.
Cfizzle on 2021

Went up from Ronny Creek in rain, wind and clouds. Weather cleared up during the day. I was prepared and enjoyed every minute.
Wanderlust on 9 Dec, 2020

Amazing walk! Unfortunately the lookout was covered in cloud but we still got amazing views on the way up and got to enjoy the snow on the ground and falling!
Richard Mason on 27 Oct, 2019