Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park is located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania (Australia), 165 kilometres (103 mi) northwest of Hobart.

Aboriginal use of the Cradle Mountain dates back to the last ice age (10,000 years ago) and is believed to have been non-permanent, consisting mostly of seasonal hunting excursions during the summer months.

[2] Several artifacts and campsites containing various stone types and tools have been discovered at Pelion Plains and Lake St Clair, and early surveyors reported huts in the area.

[3] Europeans first explored Cradle Mountain in 1827 and 1828 with Joseph Fossey and Henry Hellyer surveying for the Van Diemen's Land Company.

Railway engineer Allan Stewart began surveying a route which led up the Mersey Valley, but ran out of money before it could be completed.

[3] These tracks encouraged prospecting, and several mines were set up including coal near Barn Bluff, copper in Pelion Plains, Lake Windemere and Commonwealth Creek, tin in Mount Inglis, and tungsten in the Forth Valley.

[3] Both Lake St Clair and Cradle Mountain were regarded by European settlers as attractive destinations, with tourist lodges at each location.

[3] In the 1910s Gustav and Kate Cowle began campaigning for the area from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair to be a national park.

Furthermore, 68% of the higher rainforest species recorded in alpine areas in Tasmania are present in the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park.

Although rarely acknowledged, the great majority of plants in Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park (indeed in the world) form mutually beneficial mycorrhizal relationships with fungi.