Unofficial guide · verify with Parks Tasmania

Mount Field National ParkUnofficial operator’s manual

Full-day: Three Falls Circuit

Full day from Hobart or a relaxed morning from the campground · Best for: First full walk for most visitors

Guide updated · verify Parks Tasmania the morning you go

Download planner PDFView / print HTML

The day shape most visitors should actually walk: 6 km, Grade 3, Russell Falls → Horseshoe → Tall Trees → Lady Barron. Alpine road only if time and weather are leftover — usually they are not.

Horseshoe Falls in cool temperate rainforest, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania

Horseshoe Falls

JJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Three Falls Circuit is the usual full day. It has enough steps to feel like a proper walk and enough waterfalls to feel like Mount Field. Leave Tarn Shelf off this plan if you are driving from Hobart the same morning.

Official figures: 6 km, 2–2.5 hours, Grade 3, many steps. Families often need three hours. Anticlockwise is the usual published direction: Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Tall Trees, Lady Barron Falls, then the long wooden-step descent. You can reverse at any falls.

From Hobart this is the day’s core, not a warm-up. Budget just over an hour each way plus a dusk wildlife buffer. Starting the circuit at 3 pm in winter is how groups finish in the dark.

Always verify grade, distance, closures and Visitor Centre hours with Parks Tasmania the morning you go. This itinerary is planning guidance only.

Track status, weather and closures change — verify on Parks Tasmania before you leave, then use the timeline below as a planning skeleton only.

Timeline

  1. Night before

    Decide the circuit is the day

    Skip Lake Dobson unless you are staying overnight and the road report is already good. Pack poles if knees dislike steps. Screenshot official Three Falls notes and alerts on home Wi-Fi. Agree a reverse-at-any-falls rule out loud.

  2. Leave Hobart / camp

    Arrive with walking hours

    From Hobart, leave early enough that you are on the sealed path by mid-morning. From the Tyenna campground, walk over — you are already 200 m from the start. Parks Pass required either way. Fuel and last shop in New Norfolk if you are coming from town.

  3. Visitor Centre

    Pass, toilets, wind check

    Validate the pass, use toilets (none mid-circuit), and ask whether wind has closed rainforest tracks. Falling-limb closures happen. Then start anticlockwise unless on-site signs say otherwise.

  4. Russell Falls

    Photo stop, then keep moving

    Keep the first photo stop finite so Horseshoe still has legs. The platforms are the busiest 400 metres in the park. If the group is already done here, turn around on the Grade 1 path — that is still a Mount Field day.

  5. Mid-walk

    Horseshoe, Tall Trees, Lady Barron

    200+ steps to Horseshoe. Wet roots and timber after rain. Use Tall Trees as a flatter rainforest reset. Lady Barron, then the long wooden descent. Eat on the track — café is at the end, not the middle.

  6. Afternoon

    Café, campground wander, drive

    If energy remains, a Tyenna River campground wander (respect campers) or a second look at Russell Falls for softer light. Then drive with a dusk buffer. Do not “just check” Lake Dobson Road because the café is still open.

Packing

  • Waterproofs (jacket + overtrousers)
  • Trekking poles
  • 1–2 L water
  • Snacks + extra layer
  • Grip trail shoes
  • Parks Pass confirmation

Optional kit searches live on the gear list— not on this itinerary.

Parking & access tips

  • Visitor Centre car park is the start and finish.
  • Campground parking is for overnight visitors.
  • Fine weekends: arrive earlier than a Hobart brunch implies.

Skip if short on time / energy

  • Lake Dobson Road
  • Tarn Shelf on the same Hobart day
  • Any Grade 4–5 alpine peak
  • Starting after mid-afternoon in winter

Extra tips

Who this plan is for

  • First-time visitors who want the main full walk, not only the postcard platform
  • Fit families who can handle Grade 3 steps (not a stroller circuit)
  • Hobart day-trippers who will leave Tarn Shelf for another morning
  • Campers who want a door-to-door waterfall day

Decision gates (say them out loud)

  • If wind closures are up: Russell Falls only, or café + Curiosity Room
  • If anyone is cooked at Horseshoe: reverse rather than forcing Lady Barron
  • If you finished at 3 pm and someone says “alpine?”: no
  • If dusk is close: drive. Wildlife on the return is the hazard

What success looks like

  • The circuit finished, or an honest reverse at a named falls
  • Knees and kids still speaking to you at the café
  • No gravel-road add-on after a step day from Hobart
  • Notes for next time: overnight, then Tarn Shelf if the road is open

Related trail guides

  • Three Falls CircuitThe usual first full walk: Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Tall Trees and Lady Barron Falls on a 6 km circuit with 200+ steps. Start behind the Visitor Centre; typical direction is anticlockwise.
  • Russell FallsThe park’s postcard waterfall: a short sealed walk from the Visitor Centre to a three-tiered drop in fern gully. It is a proper rainforest stop, not just a photo from the car park. Most first visits start here, then add more if there is time.
  • Tall Trees WalkA short circuit among towering Eucalyptus regnans — some of the tallest flowering plants on earth. Easy to pair with Russell Falls or as a mid-point on Three Falls Circuit.

Official links to verify

Stays & tours for this plan

Optional next steps once your timeline is set. Kit searches live on the gear list. Park fees and official Parks Tasmania bookings are never affiliated.

Nearby stays

National Park (closest) · New Norfolk · Hobart

All Booking.com links open in a new tab and may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Official Parks Tasmania camping and cottage bookings are never affiliated.

Guided tours

Optional — useful for first visits from Hobart without wanting to drive the Derwent Valley

A tour does not replace checking Parks Tasmania alerts, weather, or cliff safety yourself.

Some stay, tour and gear links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Parks Pass fees, campground fees and official Parks Tasmania bookings are never affiliated. Affiliate disclosure · Privacy