Cataract Gorge Reserve

10/10 Area suitable for every age groups. Steep hikes for rewarding views, as well as a cheap ski lift for a stunning bird eye view experience. A large pool to chill out in. Truly a Launceston icon. Atmosphere 8/10 Every area was nearly perfect. The mountain was calming with the many tranquil peacocks around the area. The green space was great people were lively and having fun except the may kangaroo poop in the area. The pool was crystal clean with there being different depths for little children and even a lake for experienced swimmers. Definitely take a ski lift up too see amazing views in the sky. Service: The staff and people were nice and were straight to the point wasting no time to get you to places you want to be. Come here for sure if you’re visiting Launceston!

The gorge is a wonderful day out. We went on the chair lift across to one side and chose an easy walk back but there's lots of options. We saw wild peacocks and echidnas. The pool is free and a hit with kids.

Amazing place to spend for recreation, leisure and tourist adventures. Certainly within the top 2 must do's in Launceston. Amazing pool on a warm enough day. Bring the family and for a few dollars for a car park can spend a fair day swimming, sunbathing or taking in some wonderful, scenic views while walking or going for a jog!

Beautiful walking trails and lookouts. Parking costs a maximum of $6 per day, but you can easily find free curbside parking if you arrive early. We recommend saving the money for the chairlift, as the ride is short and is quite expensive. Be sure to explore the area on foot and cross the suspension bridge. Admission is free, and you might spot some wildlife. There are plenty of peacocks and wallabies.

Lovely place, very scenic and pleasant experience. I have mobility issues, it would be good to add more facilities for people with disability so we don't feel left out. Additional benches, chairs and tables along the way would be helpful. The toilets are not enough for the amount of tourist being allowed. It gets so crowded and dirty. It would be good to have more people assigned in checking cleanliness and toilet papers stock. The cafe also is very small for the amount of tourist being allowed in one day. It gets very crowded.

Cataract Gorge is a delightful place only minutes from Launceston city. There is plenty to do here - walks of varying difficulty, a scenic chairlift, swimming, a cafe and plenty of bushland and grass to walk through and relax on. The flowers and wildlife (especially the peacocks) were stunning! You could spend half to a full day here at no cost. Highly recommended!

Cataract Gorge Reserve was the first place we visited after landing in Launceston, having heard all the rave reviews — and it absolutely lived up to them. The scenery was stunning and the wildlife was incredible. I can’t believe there’s no entry fee for a place like this. We went swimming both in the gorge and in the pool, and both were awesome. We saw heaps of peacocks roaming around (some of them even put on a proper show) and were lucky enough to spot an echidna (my favourite animal) which genuinely made my day. We walked around the entire gorge and also did the Zig Zag Track. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I’ll definitely be back.

I did the full loop of the first bassin and duck reach track hikes and had an amazing time! The duck reach track (if passing by the power station) definitely starts off muh harder, with a bunch of narrow stairs and narrow dirt pathways following one-another in succession, with a pretty quick change in elevating. However, I highly recommend doing the full loop! While the irst bassin track provides great views of the gorge, the duck reach track really brings you into nature (without the fencing and everything that makes the first bassin track feel a little more "contained"). During the duck reach portion, I had the great pleasure of meeting a bunch of different animals, notably a very curious echidna that made me add another 10 mins to the duration of the hike. As for the duration, the estimates provided on the signs are fairly accurate if you take your time or get distracted by nature, but for the portions where I was walking briskly, I'd say you can shave 25% off easily.

This reserve comes up in many search results for "Things to do in Launceston" as travel must visit destinations but it should really come up in "Where to picnic with your family near Launceston" instead. It is a nice park. It has a lake, some bridges, some longer trails to walk through, and a cafe. But there is really not much special or spectacular about this park, besides the apparent ease with which you can see peacocks roaming around. It's not a bad park. But it's not that great either - certainly not for the drive out from Launceston. If you are looking for things to do in Launceston, I suggest you make the trek to Cradle mountain, or stay in the city.