Cape Tourville

How to get there

1. From the Freycinet Visitor Centre follow signs to Cape Tourville — official notes put the circuit about 7 km from the Visitor Centre. Sealed access. Parks Pass required.
2. This is the useful backup when the Wineglass car park is full. Do not invent verge parking at the Walking Tracks Car Park instead.
3. Sleepy Bay is signed on the same coastal spur — pair them if you want a second short stop.
4. No 4WD. No kiosk at the lighthouse. Refill water at the Visitor Centre before you leave.

How to do it (step by step)

1. Park at the signed Cape Tourville car park. The circuit starts here — not at the Wineglass trailhead.
2. Walk the 600 m formed circuit. Stay behind barriers — cliffs are real even on an easy walk.
3. Lighthouse and coastal views over The Nuggets / granite coast. Allow extra photo time; the walk itself is short.
4. Return to the same car park. If legs and time remain, Sleepy Bay is the usual add-on on the way back toward the Visitor Centre.

What to expect

Official notes: 600 m circuit, about 20 minutes, Grade 1. High coastal views and a lighthouse. This is the easy walk — and the right choice when someone in the car cannot do Grade 3 stairs.

It does not replace Wineglass Lookout. It is a different view (ocean and granite coast, not the bay crescent). Both are worth doing if you have a half-day.

Families and mixed-mobility groups often get more from this circuit than from a forced lookout climb. Formed path, real cliffs, short clock time.

Start, finish and logistics

Start at the Cape Tourville car park, about 7 km from the Visitor Centre on sealed park roads. Not the Walking Tracks Car Park. Parks Pass still required. No toilets story you should rely on here — use the Visitor Centre first.

This is the Plan B when the lookout car park is full. Drive here instead of parking on vegetation or verges. Sleepy Bay sits on the same spur if you want a second short stop.

Hazards that actually matter

Cliffs. Supervise children. Stay behind barriers. Wind can be sharp on the headland even on a fine Coles Bay morning.

Distance is not the risk. Treating an “easy” walk as a playground is. Unpatrolled water if you add Sleepy Bay after.

What not to stack

Do not add Mount Amos because this felt easy. Do not drive to the Walking Tracks Car Park at 3pm and start the circuit. Do not skip a Parks Pass because the walk is 600 m.

If the group still has a half-day after this, the lookout is the upgrade — if the car park allows. Friendly Beaches is the other long-sand option, on a different gravel access.

Map (orientation)

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

Extra tips

• Best pairing: Wineglass Lookout in the morning (if parking allows) then Cape Tourville, or Cape Tourville first if you arrive late.
• Still a Parks Pass park. Still unpatrolled cliffs.
• This is the honest Plan B when the lookout car park is full or someone cannot do Grade 3.
• Wind on the headland is stronger than at Honeymoon Bay. A light shell is not overkill.
• Printable half-day: Lookout & Cape Tourville itinerary on this site.