An unforgettable trail of things to do in Tasmania’s Huon Valley

Take a bite out of the Huon Valley with this ultimate guide.

There’s a new guard forming in the Huon Valley. An undercurrent of fresh blood, creativity and craftsmanship unite the new breed of businesses that have popped up in this fertile string of hamlets, backed by Tasmania’s largest national park, Southwest. Unsurprising then that both Conde Nast Traveler and the New York Times declared Lutruwita/Tasmania’s Huon Valley one of the top places to visit in 2024.

Amongst the rolling farmland and tiny townships perched along the Huon River, fine dining is served in humble farmhouses, multi-million-dollar art installations pop up in unexpected places, and roadside stalls deliver gourmet riches.

This south-western pocket of Tasmania, on the lands of the Melukerdee people of the Huon River and the Lyluequonny people of the Far South, is also one of the best places in the world to catch a glimpse of the Southern Lights; a place devoid of light pollution and blissfully underdeveloped.

Starting just 30 minutes south of Hobart and stretching down to the southernmost tip of Tasmania at Cockle Creek, the Huon Valley is filled with riches of both landscape and produce. Consider this your essential list of things to do in the Huon Valley.

Give yourself enough time – this place invites you to go slow.

Dine at the best restaurants in the Huon Valley

In the past, Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans had gourmands flocking to his Fat Pig Farm in Cygnet for paddock-to-plate feasts. With the restaurant recently closed, destination dining now comes in the form of a very personal, very intimate lunchtime affair in Huonville. At renowned chef and keen forager, Analiese Gregory’s home to be exact.

Chef Analiese Gregory spends most of her time out in the wilderness. (Image: Adam Gibson)

Yet to be named, the restaurant will see the ex-Franklin (Hobart) chef cooking what makes her heart sing – much of it on coals – utilising handpicked local produce, as well as things she’s grown or foraged herself. A table for 10, crafted from 100-year-old reclaimed Oregon pine, sits expectantly in the cosy space. Bookings, when they open, will be snapped up quickly.

Make a pitstop at The Kiln. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

In the meantime, lunch is best enjoyed at a languid pace at The Kiln Eatery, a restaurant and bar housed in an early 1900s oast in nearby Ranelagh that opened in mid-2023. Sit by the fire in the sun-drenched enclosed courtyard and, in between courses, head upstairs to take a stickybeak at the heritage-listed hops drying room. Slip into the bar to sample the deQuetteville gin being distilled next door from botanicals found in the gardens of adjoining BnB, Clifton Estate.

Don’t pass up the chance to try specialty desserts at The Kiln. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

Come nightfall, step into the convivial vibe of Lost Captain – an old manor house reborn as a restaurant and taphouse on the Huon River where punters cradle local brews and tuck into Bruny Island oysters and tikka fried chicken. Don’t skip the black garlic and onion butter, served with warm Poolish and Co. sourdough from Cygnet.

Seek out the best Huon Valley bakeries & cafes

Take a break from op shopping your way through Huonville and join the locals working on laptops while cradling coffees at Reba Sear, a cafe and homewares store set in a curvy art deco corner building.

Pop into Reba Sear for a caffeine fix. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

Afterwards, head to Summer Kitchen Bakery in Ranelagh for a chunk of coconut-studded spelt carrot cake or a Bruny Island wallaby pie with potato.

Fill your basket with freshly baked bread at Summer Kitchen Organic Bakery. (Image: Chris Phelps)

While strolling Cygnet’s charming main street, make a stop at Red Velvet Lounge for some nasi goreng, or perhaps a bowl of coco pops. In Geeveston, brunch at The Old Bank cafe and stop by Harvest and Light – a small-batch picklery with an exclusively female-winemaker list of wines by the glass.

Stop by the Red Velvet Lounge for some nasi goreng. (Image: Chris Phelps)

Roll through Dover on your way further south and you can’t miss Wild Bird, which opened in November 2023. Grab a table out front to enjoy coffee, delicious toasties, and pastries baked in-house.

Power through the day with a toastie and coffee at Wild Bird cafe. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

In the entranceway, books by local authors, artists and photographers line shelves also laden with local honey and ceramic keep cups.

Check out the books and honey on display at Wild Bird. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

Hop between Huon Valley wineries

Chardonnay and pinot noir are the stars of the Huon Valley wine scene, in Tasmania’s southernmost wine region, while the handful of family-owned wineries and cellar doors are relaxed and inviting.

Wine lovers should make a beeline for this well-loved Huon Valley winery. (Image: Chris Phelps)

With an intimate tasting room adjoining an 1800s heritage-listed cottage with views of Huon Belle – aka the vision of Sleeping Beauty locals say you can see in the mountain range – a visit to Kate Hill Wines feels a little fairytale-like itself. From delicate, creamy sparkling to possibly the coolest climate shiraz in the Southern Hemisphere, Kate’s range of wines is complemented by tasting plates of local goodies, or on Saturdays, sourdough pizzas and live music.

Get cosy by the fireplace at Kate Hill Wines. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

Try to time your visit to the Huon Valley to enjoy lunch at Home Hill Winery, their restaurant housed in a rammed earth building surrounded by vines and farm animals. The former apple farm has flourished into a six-hectare vineyard producing some of Australia’s best pinot noir.

Book ahead for a private guided tasting at Mewstone Wines in Flowerpot to sample their estate-grown drops and more experimental hughes & hughes wines, made with hand-selected contract grapes. This handsome Huon Valley winery also serves up all-Tasmanian platters and showstopping views over the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

Sip on Huon Valley cider

You can’t visit the Huon Valley without sampling some of its cider and Willie Smith’s Apple Shed is one of the best places to start. Come lunchtime, the shed quickly fills with punters, many making the pilgrimage for a slice of apple pie.

Indulge in a slice of apple pie at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed. (Image: Stu Gibson)

Grab a tasting paddle to sample the core range or limited-release ciders to enjoy with your meal – the apple shed toastie is a stalwart. After you’ve listened to the tasting notes via a QR code on the menu and wandered through the apple museum to learn the four-generation backstory, it’s hard to exit past the shop corner without picking up a four-pack or a mulled cider kit for home.

Built in 1942, Willie Smith’s Apple Shed is a significant part of Tasmania’s apple history. (Image: Stu Gibson)

Keen to keep the cider tasting going? Drop into Pagan Cider House in Cygnet where the cider range extends to cherries and berries or Frank’s Cider House in Franklin where the Frank family have been growing apples and pears – used today in their ciders – since 1836.

Stop at a roadside stall

Be sure to have some cash handy because you can barely drive down a road in the Huon Valley without spotting a roadside stall. Apples are the most common finds – this is Apple capital after all, with bags of crunchy, juicy varieties beckoning from old fridges and wooden sheds – but you’ll also find fresh veggies, flowers, eggs and herbs for very old school prices.

Spot roadside stalls selling fresh produce. (Image: Paul County)

Drive along Glen Huon Road towards Glen Huon to find the sweetest shed filled with freshly baked pastries (@paradiseregained2022).

Grab a pastry at Paradise Regained. (Image: Celeste Mitchell)

Bag up your choices – blueberry Danish and orange chocolate cruffin, perhaps – and pop your money in the honesty box. A few steps away you’ll also find a little library alongside bunches of spray-free broccoli and fresh flowers.

Be sure to make a stop at a roadside stall. (Image: Paul County)

Indulge in a little hot/cold therapy

The ritual of sauna takes on a heady new dimension in the Huon Valley when Elsewhere Sauna pops up on weekends. The mobile sauna was lovingly crafted from an old box trailer, lined with low-impact plantation timber and fitted out with handcrafted furniture and hand-pressed tiles.

Book ahead to nab a spot and indulge in a little hot/cold therapy on the shores of Randall Bay (Sundays) or Drip Beach (fortnightly on Saturdays), with herbal tea and body scrub provided.

Visit a tavern with a difference

On the shores of the Esperance River in Strathblane, the lighting is kept deliberately low at River Run Lodge to let the stars dazzle above. Previously an old school camp, an ambitious purchase and “hell-for-leather” renovation over five months saw the log-clad tavern and adjoining bougie bunkhouses open in early 2021.

It’s managed to stay somewhat under the radar. That is until Tasmania Parks and Wildlife (PWS) cleared the final hurdle in late April 2024 to approve Transformer – a $4 million art installation coming soon to Ida Bay, 20 kilometres down the road, from the team behind Dark Mofo. Now, this southern slice of the Huon Valley looks set to attract a new wave of travellers, all of whom will be looking for a place to sleep and enjoy a drink.

Visit on a Friday or Saturday evening and you can expect local beer, wine and spirits served up alongside live music and a cracking bar menu. Get there early enough and you might even spot dolphins playing in the shallows outside!

Keen to check out other areas of Tasmania? Follow our guide to all things Tassie.