Cooks Beach Track via Hazards Beach

Cooks Beach Track via Hazards Beach is an out-and-back from the Wineglass Bay Walking Tracks Car Park to the southern Cooks Corner campsite, using the western side of the Freycinet Peninsula Circuit. The full mapped line is 13.85 km each way, or 27.7 km round trip. Published stage distances add to 12 km one way, but the measured line continues to the southern campsite; plan for the longer figure. Allow about nine hours of walking over two days. This is a remote overnight destination, not a quick beach detour or the whole Peninsula Circuit. Entry requires a Tasmanian parks pass. Overnight walkers must register; camping is free and does not require a booking. Dogs are not permitted in Freycinet National Park.

From the car park, follow the first shared stretch of the Wineglass Bay track, then take the Hazards Beach branch. The grade is gentle through dry coastal forest, with breaks in the shade looking across Coles Bay and toward Maria Island. The path drops through sandy coves before opening onto Hazards Beach. The long beach crossing is about 2.5 km on sand, so this is where a loaded pack starts to feel heavier. Stay on firm packed sand below the dune line; nesting birds use the dunes, so don't cut across them.

At the far end of Hazards Beach, follow the Peninsula Track south toward Cooks Beach. The route passes through coastal scrub and tea-tree, with sections of sandy tread and broad pink-tan granite slabs. Openings give views back across Coles Bay toward the Hazards and Mount Mayson. The Isthmus Track heads toward Wineglass Bay; take the Peninsula Track for Cooks Corner. The longer circuit continues beyond Cooks, but this walk turns around at the campsite.

Cooks Beach is a pale, roughly one-kilometre shore with granite outcrops and views across the water to the Hazards. The campsite sits at the southern end among coastal scrub. Cooks Hut is about 100 m inland; its stone section dates to 1859, but the hut is for emergencies, not overnight accommodation. For a photo, include the pale shoreline and a granite outcrop with the Hazards behind them; that gives the beach its sense of scale.

There is a tap at the starting car park and a tank at Cooks Hut, but tank water may not be available. Carry enough water for the route and don't make the campsite tank part of your plan. The walk back retraces the same long route, including the Hazards Beach sand crossing, so leave time and energy for that return.