Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach Circuit

How to get there

1. Same sealed access as the Wineglass Lookout: Walking Tracks Car Park at the end of the main park road. Parks Pass required.
2. Start early. Four to five hours of walking plus beach time plus peak-season parking means a 7:30–8:00am trailhead is realistic in summer, not an 11am start after brunch in Coles Bay.
3. No 4WD. No ferry. Friendly Beaches is a different gravel access — not this circuit.
4. Stay in Coles Bay if you want this walk without a 5am Hobart alarm. A same-day Hobart return after the circuit is how people meet wallabies on the A3.
5. Screenshot the official Hazards Beach circuit page on Visitor Centre Wi-Fi. Reception on the return is patchy.

How to do it (step by step)

1. Typical shape: car park → Wineglass Lookout → descend stairs to Wineglass Bay beach (picnic / swim) → cross the isthmus → Hazards Beach → inland / rocky return around Mount Mayson through she-oak and coastal woodland → car park.
2. The circuit can be walked either direction. Some walkers prefer anti-clockwise so the iconic view or the stairs fall where they want them; the rocky return around Mayson can feel longer than the map suggests.
3. You can bail to an out-and-back: turn around at the lookout, or at Wineglass beach and climb the stairs back. Returning via the isthmus is the usual shorten if weather or energy changes.
4. Swim only with care — beaches are unpatrolled and the water is often cooler than the photos suggest.

What to expect

Official planning figures: 11 km circuit, 4–5 hours, Grade 4. That is a full day once you add photos, a swim and the car-park circus. The first hour can feel like “just the lookout plus stairs.” The rocky return around Mount Mayson is where groups discover they booked a hard walk.

You get the lookout view, then a real beach, then a quieter western beach, then she-oak forest and seasonal creeks. A good full day if the group is fit and started early.

Day shape and direction

Car park → Lookout → stairs to Wineglass Bay beach → isthmus → Hazards Beach → inland/rocky return around Mount Mayson → car park. Walkable either way. Some people prefer anti-clockwise so the stairs happen while legs are fresher, or so they finish on the lookout view. Pick a direction before you start.

Ways to shorten: lookout only; lookout and beach out-and-back (you climb the stairs again); or return via the isthmus if the western return looks too long. There is no shuttle off the beach.

Logistics

Start and finish at the Walking Tracks Car Park. Toilets at the car park; composting toilets at some beaches (think overnight walkers, not a café). No facilities on the track itself. Water is scarce — carry a full day supply and refill before you leave the car park. Parks Pass required. Walking boots.

Allow extra time for beach time. This walk is not compatible with a 3pm Hobart dinner reservation unless you started at dawn and skipped the swim.

Hazards

Steep and rough ground, long duration, loose surfaces, cliffs, unpatrolled swimming, and fatigue on the return. Signage can feel thinner on the inland return than on the lookout climb. Turn back is always allowed.

Summer heat plus white sand is a sun problem. Mosquitoes are real near beaches and scrub. Store food; possums investigate packs.

What not to stack

Do not add Mount Amos after this circuit. Do not start the circuit at 2pm because the lookout felt easy. Do not treat a Hobart dinner booking as compatible unless you left at dawn and skipped the swim.

If anyone is cooked at Wineglass beach, climb the stairs or return via the isthmus. The rocky Mount Mayson return is still a real walk. Cape Tourville can wait until tomorrow.

Map (orientation)

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

Extra tips

• Carry more water than a “11 km day” on a city track. Freycinet is dry country in summer — 2–3 L per person is a planning figure, not a dare.
• Boots, not sandals. Granite, stairs and the rocky return punish fashion footwear.
• If you only have a half-day, do the lookout only. Do not start the circuit “to see how we feel.”
• Agree a turn-around at Wineglass beach before you leave the car: stairs back, or continue. Do not invent the western return at 2pm.
• Printable full-day: Hazards Circuit itinerary on this site.