Walking Tracks Car Park is full: what to do instead
The sealed Wineglass trailhead fills. Cape Tourville, Friendly Beaches and a hard no on verge parking — the Plan B when you arrive late.
By Ian Piggott · Farming Domains · Unofficial guide · ~10 min read
Updated · re-check Parks Tasmania before travel
Best for: Anyone arriving at the Wineglass trailhead to a full lot
Unofficial guide — always verify track conditions, closures, fees and safety with Parks Tasmania. Place photos are Wikimedia Commons / CC where credited — not official Parks Tasmania imagery and not live conditions.
Some stay, tour and gear links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Parks Pass fees and official Parks Tasmania camping bookings are never affiliated.
Wineglass Bay Lookout
JJ Harrison (jjharrison.com.au) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
You did the drive. The Walking Tracks Car Park is full. The next twenty minutes decide whether the day is still Freycinet or a sulk in reverse on the C302.
The lot is not badly designed. It is the sealed trailhead for too many products at once. Peak school holidays and Easter make the fill obvious. Shoulder weekends can still fill by late morning. Verge parking is not the workaround. Starting the Hazards Circuit at noon because you “came all this way” is not the workaround either.
This article is the decision tree for that moment. It is unofficial. It is not a live car-park camera. If a ranger, a sign, or Parks Tasmania says the area is closed or full, that wins.
One trailhead, four walks
Hazards Beach
JJ Harrison (jjharrison.com.au) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wineglass Lookout, the 11 km Hazards Circuit, Mount Amos and the Peninsula Circuit all lean on the same sealed Walking Tracks Car Park. That is why a full lot is not “bad luck.” It is the design. Arrive early or name Plan B. Those are the two honest options.
Confirm what the sign says on the day. Overflow instructions, temporary closures and fire restrictions live with Parks Tasmania, not with a blog that cannot see the bays.
Plan B on the peninsula: Cape Tourville
Cape Tourville lighthouse
Wj32 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Separate sealed car park. About 600 m, Grade 1, lighthouse circuit. Sleepy Bay is a short Grade 3 rocky-coast add-on on the same spur if you still want granite underfoot. Mixed groups and late arrivals should treat this as the default backup, not a consolation prize.
If Cape Tourville is also overflowing, you are in peak. Do not invent a third lot on the verge. Drive out to Coles Bay or Friendly Beaches.
Plan B for sand: Friendly Beaches
North of the peninsula core, gravel access, long beach walking (official range includes short and longer options). Good when the icon saddle is a circus and you still want east-coast water. Not a 4WD requirement in ordinary conditions — still gravel, still not the Wineglass postcard.
What not to do
Do not verge-park and walk the road. Do not start the 11 km circuit at noon because you waited. Do not walk Mount Amos as a “quick alternative” — it is a Grade 4 granite scramble from the same trailhead, and wet rock is a hard no.
Do not treat a walker camp as a car overflow site. Do not treat Isaacs Point as a secret Richardsons overflow. Do not assume the Visitor Centre car park is a trailhead for the lookout.
If you still want the lookout
The real fix is yesterday: sleep in Coles Bay, leave at 8am, one main walk. If you are on a Hobart day trip and the lot is already full, take Cape Tourville and leave. That is a successful Freycinet day. Turning it into a dusk return plus a stacked circuit is how the day fails.
Peak calendar context: the peak-season Wineglass article. Timing from Hobart: the day-trip-too-long article. Trail how-to: Wineglass Lookout page. Then Parks Tasmania the morning you go.
FAQ
Tap a question to expand the answer.
Can I wait in the car park for a space?
A short wait at the entrance is common. Circling for half an hour while the group gets hungry is how you start the lookout at the hottest part of the day. Have Cape Tourville as the named backup before you leave Coles Bay.
Is Cape Tourville the same view?
No. It is a Grade 1 boardwalk to a lighthouse lookout over the granite coast and the Hazard range — not the classic Wineglass saddle postcard. It is still Freycinet, still worth the spur, and it has its own car park.
Can I park at Honeymoon Bay and walk to the lookout?
Do not invent a cross-country shortcut from Honeymoon to the Wineglass saddle. Honeymoon is a bay / camp / swim reset next to Coles Bay. Use signed roads and signed walks.
What about Friendly Beaches?
Gravel access, long sand, quieter on many peak days. It is a different product — not a secret back door to Wineglass Bay. Isaacs Point camping is official Parks Tasmania, not overflow for Richardsons.
We have a Parks Pass. Does that hold a car space?
No. The pass is park entry. It does not reserve a bay at the Walking Tracks Car Park, and it is not a campsite.
More articles
- Freycinet Parks Pass vs camping: two systems, plus a peak ballot
How Tasmania Parks Pass entry, vehicle camping fees and the Freycinet peak ballot actually split — and why walker camps are a third system.
- Peninsula Circuit: plan water first, distance second
Why Freycinet’s 27 km circuit fails on empty bottles — Cooks Hut tank, no water at Wineglass camp, anti-clockwise advice and a realistic 2–3 day shape.
- Peak-season Wineglass: car park, crowds and a Plan B
What December–February school holidays and Easter actually do to the Walking Tracks Car Park — and how to still have a good Freycinet day.
- Mount Amos: treat wet granite as a closure
Why 3.6 km and “the best view” is still a hard no after rain — and what to do instead on Freycinet.
Free Freycinet practical planner
Printable packing, lookout vs circuit, water refill points and official Parks Tasmania links — PDF and HTML, no email required.
- Before-you-leave packing ticks
- Half-day Wineglass Lookout + Cape Tourville timeline
- What to skip when time, heat or the car park fails
- Official Parks Tasmania links to verify conditions
Free direct download — no email required. Also available anytime from Maps & resources · Itineraries · Privacy.