Painted Cliffs
Painted Cliffs
60 Great Short Walks

Painted Cliffs

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Alerts for Painted Cliffs

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Closed area: Temporary closure, Maria Island National Park
Applies from 22/6/2025


Maria Island National Park will be closed to the public from 5pm, Sunday 22 June to 8am, Friday 4 July 2025. This closure includes all tracks and roads on the island. This for essential annual island maintenance and management works.

Access is prohibited during this time to ensure public safety.

For more information contact the Maria Island Gateway on ph: 03 6213 4040 between 9am and 3.30pm.​

Last reviewed 10/6/2025 03:11 PM


Closed area: Painted Cliffs - Partial closure
Applies from 8/5/2024

​​​​​A section of the Painted Cliffs will be closed to public access, pending ​​geotechnical surveys to determine safety risks of loose overhanging rocks.

For further information, please contact the Maria Island Gateway on (03) 6123 4040.​

Last reviewed 2/5/2025 09:50 AM


1-2 hour walk, 0.5-1.5 hour ride, 4.3km return
Grade 3: Some bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may have short steep hill sections, a rough surface and many steps.
Supervise children. Beaches are unpatrolled. The painted cliffs are dangerous. Please keep your distance to stay safe from falling rocks. The cliffs are unstable and cannot be climbed or accessed from above.
A valid parks pass is required for entry to Tasmania's national parks.
This walk departs from the Darlington Township. Access to the Painted Cliffs Rock Platform is safest within two hours of low tide so it's important to time your trip.

About

​​The walk follows the Frenchs Farm Coastal Route from Darlington Bay to the Painted Cliffs. Along the way you can enjoy the magical Hopground Beach, a beautiful white sandy beach. 

To turn the walk into a loop track follow the meandering boardwalk along Counsel Creek. The boardwalk passes the convict-built Oast House. This is one of the oldest hop kilns in Tasmania. 

There are lots of native wildlife to spot along the track. You can also relax on Hopground Beach, or swim, snorkel and explore the rockpools of the Maria Island Marine Reserve.

The walk ends at the Painted Cliffs. The cliffs are famous for their amazing colours and swirling patterns. 

The patterns have been created by ground water percolating through the sandstone and staining the rock. Wave action and sea spray have continued the erosion, resulting in the honeycomb patterns, potholes and notches.