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A scenic photo of the Coningham Nature Recreation Area featuring lush green trees and a glimpse of the nearby beach.
Coningham Nature Recreation Area (photograph: Craig Vertigan)

Coningham Nature Recreation Area

Find out more

FeaturesExpand/Collapse

  • Cycling tracks
  • Dogs on leads are permitted
  • Fishing
  • Horse riding
  • Kayaking
  • Scuba diving
  • Short walk
  • Snorkelling
  • Swimming

ContactExpand/Collapse

  • Huonville Office
    22 Main Street
    Office usually staffed 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday
    Huonville TAS 7109
    Phone: 03 6121 7026
    Email: Huonville@parks.tas.gov.au

    ​Visitor centre opening hours
    10am to 4pm Monday to Friday

About

​Not far beyond the hustle and bustle of Hobart, Coningham Nature Recreation Area is the locals’ best kept secret. The idyllic bays of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and empty beaches fringed by Tasmanian native plants can be explored via the walking tracks that weave along the coastline and up onto the hilltop.

Views of the bays and hamlets are revealed through the trees and colourful huts line the beaches, reminiscent of a simpler time. Coningham is a place to immerse yourself in nature and simply let your mind wander.

Coningham Nature Recreation Area is a significant home for many other locals, too; white-bellied sea eagles and wedge-tailed eagles frequent the skies and little penguins seek refuge on the shores after returning from fishing expeditions. The reserve is also an important refuge for a number of threatened plant and animal species.

​The reserve is popular with field naturalists, photographers, horse riders, orienteers​, mountain bikers, beachcombers, fishers and bushwalkers.  

There are few formalised tracks but a number of walks are possible along narrow but well-used trails. 

A six-hour circuit commences at the Hopwood Street entrance and crosses Sheppards Hill to the southern private property boundary before heading downhill to Peartree Bay. Walkers then follow the eastern shore back to the Snug Point Track to join the fire trails and firebreaks back to Hopwood Street. This is a multiple use trail.

​Volunteer groups work to protect and enhance the reserve's biodiversity.

Tracks map of Conningham Nature Recreation Area


​​The reserve is home to threatened and significant native animal species and supports unique and diverse vegetation communities. Stands of lowland blue gum provide important feed for the endangered swift parrot which breeds only in Tasmania.  White gum provide the only source of food for the endangered forty-spott​​ed pardalote which is limited to the southeast corner of Tasmania. Eyes trained to ground may see threatened plants including the tailed spider-orchid, heath bent grass and Cunningham’s violet. The reserve is high priority habitat for the nocturnal eastern bettong. After dark you may also catch a glimpse of the Tasmanian masked owl.​

For more information on our wildlife please see Tasmania's wildlife.

Visit our caring for wildlife page for more information on interacting with and protecting our native animals.

​The area is highly valued by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. It provides evidence of occupation and use and may have formed part of a travelling route to Bruny Island.

Buy a map from TasMap

​Coningham NRA is 25km south of Hobart along the Channel Highway (B68).  The reserve can be accessed via local roads through the settlement of Coningham on the south shore of North West Bay, and via Old Station Road. Old Station Road dissects the reserve and serves as a back road between the Coningham settlement and Kettering to the south. 

Where possible, please avoid driving in our reserves at night. You are sharing the roads with our native wildlife, so take it slow and watch out for animals on the road.

​Find out other essential information for visiting Tasmania's parks and reserves on our know before you go section.

Experiences in Coningham Nature Recreation Area

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