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Our Top 10 Tasmanian Waterfalls
Tasmania doesn't do waterfalls by halves. With well over 250 documented falls scattered across the state — and almost certainly many more tucked into rainforest gullies nobody's bothered to name yet — the hard part isn't finding a waterfall on your Tasmania trip, it's narrowing the list down. We've done exactly that. Here are ten of our favourites, in no particular order, ranging from five-minute strolls to genuine wilderness expeditions, covering pretty much every corner of the state.
What everyone's actually asking before they go
Before we get into the list: a couple of quick answers to the questions we hear most. When's the best time to see Tasmania's waterfalls? Winter, if you want them at their most dramatic — the cooler months bring the state's heaviest rainfall, and falls that trickle politely in late summer turn into genuine torrents by July and August. Do you need a park pass? For most of the well-known falls sitting inside national parks or reserves, yes — a Tasmania Parks Pass is worth sorting online before you set off. Can you swim at them? It varies fall by fall, so it's worth checking locally before you jump in. Now, the list.
St Columba Falls
Near Pyengana on the East Coast, St Columba Falls is one of Tasmania's tallest easily accessible waterfalls, framed by tree ferns inside a dedicated reserve. It's a simple, well-maintained walk in from the car park — and conveniently close to Pyengana's famous cheese factory, if you need an excuse to make a longer stop of it.
Russell Falls
The headline act, and the one most locals name first. Tucked inside Mount Field National Park about an hour from Hobart, this two-tiered cascade is reached via an easy, wheelchair-accessible 25-minute return walk through cool-temperate rainforest — genuinely one of the most accessible big-name waterfalls in the country. It's so photogenic it appeared on one of Australia's first postage stamps, and the surrounding forest of ferns and moss is arguably as impressive as the falls themselves.
Horseshoe Falls
A short detour up the steps beside Russell Falls brings you to its quieter neighbour. Smaller and less crowded, Horseshoe Falls has its own devoted fans among locals who find it the more atmospheric of the two, framed by towering swamp gums and thick undergrowth. Combine both with Lady Barron Falls further along for the full Three Falls Circuit.
Liffey Falls
Cascading down the slopes of the Great Western Tiers near Deloraine, Liffey Falls tumbles through four distinct tiers framed by myrtle, sassafras, and leatherwood as part of the wider World Heritage Area. It's a popular stop, but the crowds thin considerably on an early morning or misty day — when the moss-covered rocks look, if anything, even better.
Bridal Veil Falls
Accessed via Lemonthyme Lodge near Moina, on the way to Cradle Mountain, Bridal Veil Falls drops around 25 metres into a shallow forest pool as part of a roughly two-hour return circuit. It's usually walked in the same loop as our next entry, making for one of the most efficient double-waterfall days in the state.
Champagne Falls
Sharing that same Lemonthyme Lodge circuit, Champagne Falls earns its name from the way the water froths and fizzes over the rocks on its way down. It's a slightly smaller, more delicate sight than its Bridal Veil neighbour, but the pairing of both falls on one accessible loop through dense forest makes this one of the better-value waterfall walks near Cradle Mountain.
Nelson Falls
Thirty kilometres out of Queenstown on the West Coast, inside the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Nelson Falls drops around 30 metres through dense rainforest that frames the water on every side. The walk in is an easy 45-minute return on a well-maintained track — a genuinely rewarding stop if you're road-tripping the Lyell Highway toward Strahan or Queenstown.
Mathinna Falls
A series of four falls totalling more than 100 metres in height, Mathinna Falls in the state's northeast rewards effort proportionally — the base tier is a fairly easy 15-minute return walk to a 25-metre drop, but the upper tiers sit well off the main track and aren't easily reached. Most visitors are more than satisfied stopping at the accessible lower falls.
Minnow Falls
Widely considered a strong contender for Tasmania's tallest waterfall, Minnow Falls twists more than 200 metres down the face of Mount Roland near Sheffield across three main tiers. Getting there is no casual stroll — a steep, narrow track climbing roughly 450 metres over the final stretch — but it's regarded as one of the state's best half-day adventures for anyone reasonably fit and properly prepared.
Reynolds Falls
For genuinely committed waterfall-chasers only. Reynolds Falls sits deep in remote West Coast wilderness, reached via a demanding overnight or multi-day bushwalk that drops and climbs repeatedly through old forest and alpine meadow. It's not a casual add-on to a road trip — but for experienced hikers chasing something few other visitors will ever see, it's considered one of Tasmania's great wilderness rewards.
Why a campervan makes chasing them all this easy
Here's the part that makes this list genuinely doable rather than just aspirational: almost every one of these falls sits within an easy detour of Tasmania's main road corridors, and a campervan is exactly the right tool for stringing them together. There's no need to plan a trip around waterfalls specifically — Russell and Horseshoe fit naturally into a Hobart day out, Bridal Veil and Champagne sit right on the way to Cradle Mountain, Nelson Falls is a built-in stop on the drive to the West Coast, and St Columba slots effortlessly into an East Coast loop. Wake up wherever you parked the night before, add an hour here and there, and by the end of a Tasmania road trip you could realistically have ticked off most of this list without ever feeling like you went out of your way. That's the real joy of doing Tasmania by van — the wildest, most photogenic corners of the state are never more than a short, unhurried drive from wherever you happen to be sleeping that night.
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