Western Arthurs Traverse

Western Arthurs Traverse is a Grade 5, multi-day hiking route in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. It’s widely treated as an extreme undertaking, with terrain that can make short distances into long, high-consequence days.

The traverse is mapped as a roughly 63.22 km route, commonly planned as a “lollipop” starting and finishing at Huon Campground near Scotts Peak Dam. Many trip schedules run about 5–7 days for the standard A–K Moraine traverse, with the full circuit typically taking longer.

Day 1 is Huon Campground to Junction Creek. The approach follows the Port Davey Track (sometimes shown under that or McKays Track on some maps), with creek crossings on Arthur Plains and mud that can get very deep after rain.

From Junction Creek, the route turns toward the Western Arthur Range via Alpha Moraine and climbs to the exposed crest. There’s boulder hopping/rock scrambling as it works across the range, then continues via saddles and crags before descending to Lake Cygnus.

From Lake Cygnus to Lake Oberon the route again runs along very exposed range crest, with steep climbs in and out of rocky gullies and rock scrambling on the way to Lake Oberon. The terrain becomes significantly harder after Lake Oberon, following serrated ridges, high cliffs, and steep gullies.

The hardest portion is often flagged between High Moor and Haven Lake, built around very steep ascents/descents and features such as Tilted Chasm. Expect pack-hauling and very rough, exposed travel where route markers are intermittent and navigation/mapping skill matters.

Later sections move from Haven Lake back toward the junction, keeping rough, steep, exposed walking until Lake Sirona. After Sirona the ridge opens for less strenuous travel before a long descent down Kappa Morraine back onto Arthur Plains with muddy buttongrass and multiple creek crossings before returning to Huon Campground.

The walk is affected heavily by weather: summer is typically the most reliable window, but four-season conditions can occur year-round. Planning for self-sufficiency is standard, and a Personal Locator Beacon is treated as essential for parties on this route.

More information: Conditions, Wikipedia, Western Arthurs Traverse Hiking Guide - K2 Base Camp