National Parks in Tasmania

Friedel and Greg admiring the viewTasmania has 17 national parks that cover a good chunk of the island.

Besides offering beautiful views, they usually feature campsites and picnic areas so chances are you’ll want to make them part of your bicycle tour.

An entry fee applies to the national parks and, unlike in Western Australia, bicycle travellers must pay. There’s no incentive for people to leave the car at home in Tasmania.

One-off entry fees can be high so the best deal for anyone planning to visit more than a couple parks is the 2-month pass (A$28/person in 2008). It allows unlimited access to all parks.

Camping fees apply on top of entrance charges. A typical unserviced site would cost A$13 for up to 2 people and A$5 for each extra adult. Sites with power are sometimes available for a couple extra dollars.

All these charges can be a bit annoying but if you’re planning to spend about a month in Tasmania, it only works out to about A$1/day. The camping is usually cheaper than most caravan parks, although you equally might not find things like hot showers in national parks.

More information about the parks can be found on the Parks & Wildlife Service website.

Comments

  1. Ben Cameron
    18th June 2010 at 6:28 am #

    As well as National Parks, a great deal of Tasmania’s wild areas are in State Reserves or else owned by a Government Agency, principally Forestry Tasmania. This is especially true of the West coast of Tasmania, which encompasses the Tarkine and the mining areas South of it down to Strahan. Think Savage River National Park and how much more forest and multi-million year old Gondwanan wilderness surrounds it all the way across to Pieman River Conservation Area. A lot of these places are outstanding on a global scale and these places will forever leave an impression on you. If you intend to plan a trip to really get out and see pristine, rarely visited places, look beyond National Parks. Having said that, N. Parks like Savage River or Douglas Apsley get a tiny visitation compared to where the tourists flock…Cradle Mountain and Freycinet.

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