Three Capes Track Review: Hiking Tasmania’s Epic 4-Day Coastal Walk
If you’re considering hiking the Three Capes Track in Tasmania, I can tell you straight away: this is one of the most spectacular multi-day walks I’ve done.
Over four days in Tasmania’s Tasman National Park, I hiked through dense forest, along exposed sea cliffs, over mountains and past some of the most dramatic coastal scenery I’ve ever seen.
It was also my first proper organised multi-day hiking trail.
I’ve done plenty of walking through hunting and other outdoor trips, including trips lasting several days, but those usually involve setting up a base camp and walking out from there. The Three Capes Track was different: four days of continuously moving forward, staying in purpose-built huts along the way and carrying everything I needed on my back.
And because I decided to do it in the middle of a Tasmanian winter, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into.
As it turned out, winter might have been one of the best times I could have gone.
Here’s my full Three Capes Track review, including what the walk is actually like, the huts, the scenery, the difficult sections, what I packed and whether I think the experience is worth the money.
What Is the Three Capes Track?
The Three Capes Track is a four-day hiking experience through Tasman National Park in south-east Tasmania.
My trip began at the Port Arthur Historic Site, where hikers check in before boarding a boat that takes you across the water to Denmans Cove, the official starting point of the walk.
From there, the trip progresses through a series of purpose-built overnight huts before eventually finishing at Fortescue Bay.
One of the big differences between the Three Capes Track and a typical unsupported multi-day hike is that you don't need to carry a tent, sleeping mat or cooking stove.
The huts have bunks and cooking facilities, including gas burners, pots, pans and kettles, so all you really need to carry is your sleeping gear, clothing, food and personal equipment. That felt incredibly luxurious compared with the sort of hiking I'm used to.
It also means you can use the spare weight for a few additional comforts.
In my case, that meant plenty of food and a big puffer jacket.
Priorities.
Preparing for the Three Capes Track
I didn't want to turn up completely unprepared, so before leaving Queensland I spent quite a bit of time walking with my pack at full weight.
By the time I left for Tasmania, I'd done around 125 kilometres of conditioning walks carrying the loaded pack.
For this trip I used my 5.11 Rush 100 as my main pack, with a smaller 5.11 MOAB 8 attached to it as a daypack.
That combination ended up being particularly useful on the Three Capes Track because there are sections where you can leave your main pack behind and continue with a much lighter daypack.
I also carried two one-litre Nalgene bottles rather than a hydration bladder, wet-weather gear, thermals, multiple clothing layers, a PLB, first-aid and bleed-control equipment, water treatment gear, power banks, a head torch and my sleeping system.
Because the Three Capes huts provide cooking equipment and accommodation, I could leave my tent, sleeping mat and hiking stove at home.
For a winter trip, that saved a significant amount of weight.
Hiking the Three Capes Track in Winter
I did the walk during August, right in the Tasmanian winter.
That might sound like a strange time to tackle a coastal hiking trail, but it came with one enormous advantage:
There were hardly any people.
I was told that during the busier months the huts can regularly operate close to their roughly 48-person capacity. During my trip, things were completely different.
On the first morning, there was originally supposed to be another party starting at the same time as me.
They didn't turn up.
So I got a private boat ride to Denmans Cove and began the Three Capes Track completely on my own.
For such a popular walk, having sections of the Tasman National Park effectively to myself was pretty special.
Of course, the trade-off with a winter Three Capes Track hike is the weather.
Tasmania can throw just about anything at you, so I carried proper rain gear, overpants, thermal layers, gloves and plenty of insulation.
Remarkably, the weather was much better than I expected for most of the hike.
Three Capes Track Day 1: Denmans Cove to Surveyors
The first day is deliberately easy.
After checking in at Port Arthur, the journey begins with the boat trip across to Denmans Cove.
Being dropped onto a beach by boat with your pack and watching the boat disappear behind you is a pretty cool way to begin a hiking trip.
From Denmans Cove, the first day is only around 5 kilometres, making it a gentle introduction before the bigger days ahead.
The trail gradually climbs away from the coastline toward the first hut.
And when I first saw the hut complex, I genuinely couldn't believe the scale of it.
Calling these things "huts" almost feels misleading.
They are closer to wilderness lodges.
There are sleeping cabins, toilets, dining areas, barbecues and enclosed cooking areas. Inside you'll find multiple gas burners along with pots, pans and kettles.
You basically just need to bring the food you want to cook.
If your mental picture of multi-day hiking involves crawling into a tiny tent at the end of a wet day and cooking dinner on a little gas stove, the Three Capes experience is going to feel ridiculously comfortable.
Three Capes Track Day 2: The Scenery Gets Serious
Day two was around 11 kilometres, and this was when the scenery really started turning up.
The trail incorporates a mixture of forest tracks, beautifully constructed boardwalks, staircases and sections following the dramatic coastline.
Throughout the walk there are also interpretive stops connected with the guidebook you're given at check-in.
These cover local history, geology, wildlife and conservation.
It's a clever addition because the Three Capes Track isn't simply taking you past beautiful scenery; it's constantly explaining why the landscape you're walking through is significant.
Then you reach the cliffs.
After climbing what felt like endless steps, the trail suddenly opened onto an incredible coastal view.
That became a recurring theme.
You walk through relatively enclosed vegetation, turn a corner and suddenly find yourself staring over enormous cliffs and the Southern Ocean.
The camera simply doesn't capture the scale of it.
Eventually I arrived at Munro Hut, which might have one of the best outlooks of any hiking hut around.
And Munro had another luxury waiting for me:
A bucket shower.
After a day of walking, filling a bucket with warm water, hoisting it into the bush shower and getting properly clean felt like five-star accommodation.
Three Capes Track Day 3: Cape Pillar and The Blade
For me, day three was the highlight of the entire Three Capes Track.
This is the day you head toward Cape Pillar and The Blade.
It is also where the advantage of carrying a detachable daypack becomes obvious.
Because the Cape Pillar section is an out-and-back walk, I was able to leave my large hiking pack at Munro Hut and continue carrying only my smaller pack with water, snacks, emergency equipment and rain gear.
That meant roughly 16 kilometres of walking with only the daypack before returning to collect the main pack and continuing toward the next hut.
And you definitely want to be able to enjoy this section.
The views just don't stop.
You emerge from the bush onto another clifftop.
Walk around another corner and there's another massive view.
Then another.
And another.
At times the track runs close enough to the cliffs that you become very aware of exactly how high above the ocean you are.
I'm not someone who particularly seeks out heights, and there were definitely moments that sent a little jolt through my legs.
The lookout near the end, with views stretching along the Tasmanian coastline, was one of those places where you simply have to stop for a while and take everything in.
It was easily one of the most memorable parts of the entire trip.
Three Capes Track Day 4: Mount Fortescue, Cape Hauy and Fortescue Bay
The final day starts early.
I left the hut at around 7:15am because the guide suggested allowing roughly seven hours for the day's walking and I had a shuttle to catch from Fortescue Bay that afternoon.
Almost immediately, you're heading uphill.
This section passes through what is referred to as "The Dark Side" of Mount Fortescue.
Because of its position on the southern side of the mountain, it receives relatively little direct sunlight and develops its own cold, damp environment.
Walking through it felt like entering a completely different ecosystem.
Everything was wet.
The air was wet.
The vegetation was covered in moss and ferns.
Fog sat throughout the forest and visibility dropped dramatically.
At one point it honestly felt like walking underwater.
When I eventually reached the summit, I was greeted with...
Absolutely nothing.
Complete whiteout.
After days of enormous coastal views, standing at the top of the mountain surrounded entirely by cloud was actually pretty funny.
From there, however, the walking continued toward another major highlight: Cape Hauy.
Is the Three Capes Track Difficult?
The Three Capes Track is very well constructed, but don't mistake that for meaning it's effortless.
There are a lot of stairs.
And I mean a lot.
There are long climbs, long descents and plenty of elevation changes throughout the four days.
The final side trip toward Cape Hauy was probably the most physically demanding part of the entire experience for me.
The rangers made it sound fairly casual.
Just pop out to the Cape and come back.
No worries.
In reality, it involved seemingly endless stone staircases going up and down.
By the time I was walking the final couple of kilometres toward Fortescue Bay with my full pack back on, "walking" might have been a generous description.
But it was worth it.
I finished the trip tired, but genuinely impressed by both the physical challenge and the experience itself.
Are the Three Capes Track Huts Good?
The huts are one of the biggest reasons the Three Capes Track is so accessible as a multi-day hiking experience.
They're excellent.
Having a proper bunk at the end of each day's walk dramatically reduces the equipment you need to carry.
You don't need a tent.
You don't need a sleeping mat.
You don't need cooking equipment.
And you have sheltered places to sit, cook, eat and recover regardless of what the Tasmanian weather is doing outside.
For someone who wants to experience a multi-day hike without immediately jumping into completely unsupported wilderness camping, the Three Capes Track is a fantastic option.
Experienced hikers may call it luxurious.
They're right.
And I loved it.
What Food Did I Take on the Three Capes Track?
For my main meals I mostly carried freeze-dried Back Country Cuisine meals.
The big advantage was weight.
The meals I carried were around 90 grams each before adding water, so packing several days of food didn't become a massive burden.
I supplemented them with snack packs containing things like biltong, shortbread and chocolate.
There is no need to carry a stove because the huts provide gas burners and cooking equipment.
You do, however, need to carry your food in and your rubbish back out.
Gear I Was Glad I Packed
There were a few things that stood out during the walk.
Walking poles
I've previously joked that walking poles were for weaklings.
I take it back.
On slippery terrain, steep climbs and long descents, they were brilliant.
The additional stability gives you far more confidence, particularly when the track is wet.
Puffer jacket
Not something I necessarily wanted to walk in, but absolutely something I wanted once I arrived at the hut.
Having a big warm layer for sitting around at night was worth the extra space in my pack.
Dry bags
Even though I had a rain cover over my main pack, I kept my sleeping bag and other critical gear inside dry bags.
Being wet during the day is one thing.
Climbing into wet sleeping gear at night is another.
Personal Locator Beacon
For remote hiking, I like having a PLB immediately accessible.
Mine stayed on my waist strap rather than buried somewhere inside the main pack.
Daypack
If I were doing the Three Capes Track again, I would absolutely take a small daypack.
Being able to stash the large pack for Cape Pillar/The Blade and again for Cape Hauy makes those sections much more enjoyable.
Three Capes Track in Winter: Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely.
You obviously need to prepare for cold, rain, wind and rapidly changing weather.
But the reward is the possibility of experiencing an incredibly popular Tasmanian hiking trail with remarkably few people around.
Having Denmans Cove and large sections of the trail almost entirely to myself was something I doubt I'd experience during peak season.
For me, that easily outweighed the colder conditions.
Is the Three Capes Track Worth the Money?
When I did the walk, I noted that the ticket was around $600.
That's considerably more expensive than simply heading into the bush yourself.
But you're not simply paying for access to a walking track.
The experience includes the boat journey to the trailhead, access to the purpose-built hut system and an extraordinarily well-maintained trail network.
The scale of the infrastructure is impressive.
Boardwalks, staircases, hut complexes, toilets, cooking facilities, conservation infrastructure and interpretive elements are built throughout what is otherwise an extremely rugged part of Tasmania.
Once I'd actually completed the walk and seen what had been built, the price made much more sense.
Who Is the Three Capes Track Best For?
I think the Three Capes Track sits in an interesting sweet spot.
If you're an experienced wilderness hiker, you'll probably find the accommodation extremely comfortable, but the scenery and physical challenge still make the walk worthwhile.
If you've never completed a multi-day hike before, this may be an even better option.
The huts remove some of the biggest complications associated with multi-day hiking.
There's no tent to pitch.
No sleeping mat to carry.
No stove to manage.
No need to find a suitable campsite every night.
You still need to carry your gear, manage your clothing, food and water and be physically capable of covering the terrain.
But the logistical side is considerably easier.
It makes the Three Capes Track a great introduction to multi-day hiking.
Final Verdict: My Three Capes Track Review
The Three Capes Track is an incredible hiking experience.
It's physically challenging without feeling like an expedition.
The hut system is excellent.
The trail infrastructure is probably the best I've experienced.
And the scenery is ridiculous.
The biggest thing I'll remember is how frequently the landscape surprises you.
You'll walk through thick vegetation with almost no view at all, climb a staircase, step through the trees and suddenly find yourself standing above enormous sea cliffs looking kilometres down the Tasmanian coastline.
Then you'll disappear back into the bush and do it all again.
Cape Pillar and The Blade were probably my favourite sections for pure scenery, while the misty rainforest around Mount Fortescue showed an entirely different side of the Tasman National Park.
And Cape Hauy made sure the final day wasn't going to let me finish without earning it.
By the time I reached Fortescue Bay, I was tired, my legs knew they'd done some work and I was definitely ready to take the pack off.
But my immediate reaction was simple:
What a great trip.
If you're looking for one of the best multi-day hikes in Tasmania — particularly if you want an experience that combines genuine hiking, spectacular coastal scenery and comfortable hut accommodation — the Three Capes Track should absolutely be on your list.