Cape Hauy Track

How to get there

1. From Hobart: about 90 minutes via Sorell (A3) then Arthur Highway (A9) toward Port Arthur. After Eaglehawk Neck, take C344 to Fortescue Bay — about 12 km unsealed. Watch for buses and towing vehicles.
2. A valid Tasmania Parks Pass is required. Buy at passes.parks.tas.gov.au before you leave; there is also a card-only Parks Pass machine in the Fortescue Bay day-use car park.
3. No useful public transport to the trailhead. Commercial tours/transfers exist; they do not replace a Parks Pass for a self-drive walk.
4. Do not leave valuables visible. Night driving on the peninsula has a high wildlife-collision risk — budget dusk.

How to do it (step by step)

1. Start at Fortescue Bay. Use toilets, fill water, put on a wind layer — the cape is colder and windier than the car park.
2. The track undulates through woodland and heath (wildflowers in season), then drops on steep stone steps and climbs again toward the cape.
3. The viewing platform is the turnaround for most day walkers: columns, Totem Pole and Candlestick sea stacks, Tasman Island, seabirds, and whales in season. Stay well back from unfenced edges.
4. Return the same way. Do not invent a “loop” onto Three Capes hut country — that product is booked and one-way.

What to expect

Parks Tasmania publishes Cape Hauy as 9.4 km return, about 4 hours, Grade 3: short steep hills, a rough surface and many steps. Some bushwalking experience is recommended. The scenic payoff is the platform: dolerite columns plunging into the Tasman Sea, the Totem Pole and Candlestick stacks, and Tasman Island off the cape.

The walk is a there-and-back. The first stretch through woodland and heath is the easy sell. The step flights are the tax. Groups that treat the published time as “for slow people” are the ones still descending when the wind comes up.

This is not walked for this URL. Distances, grades and any temporary closures come from Parks Tasmania — re-check the Cape Hauy page and park alerts the morning you go.

Day shape and logistics

Start at Fortescue Bay (C344 off A9). Parks Pass first. Toilets, water and (if camping) the Fortescue Bay campground sit here. The Three Capes Track ends at this bay — you may meet booked walkers finishing their last day via Mount Fortescue and Cape Hauy.

Typical shape: woodland/heath → steep stone steps down then up → platform → reverse. Carry water, a wind layer, and a rain shell even on a Hobart-sunny morning. Cape tops do not follow the city forecast.

C344 is unsealed but published as 2WD suitable. After rain it is slower and corrugated. There is no ferry for this day walk. Three Capes includes a boat transfer from Port Arthur — that is a different product.

Hazards and reverse

Unfenced cliff edges are the park-true hazard class here — not crocodiles, not snow, not a 4WD track. Supervise children. Strong wind is normal. Steps are slick after rain. Mobile coverage is not mapped on this site; 000 needs reception. Emergency+ is worth installing. A PLB is an optional planning note for longer cape days, not a requirement invented as coverage fact.

Reverse at will. A shorter day that stops before the last cape section still counts. Do not drop off the formed track for “a better photo of the Totem Pole.”

Map (orientation)

Pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads, parking and track status on Parks Tasmania before you drive.