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The Best Things to Do in Ulverstone, Tasmania: Coast, Caves & Excellent Coffee
Ulverstone’s windswept beaches and sunlit trails beckon — a quietly magical escape that feels like home.
The best things to do in Ulverstone include cruising the Leven River, swimming at Buttons Beach, spotting little penguins at Lillico, exploring Hive Tasmania and making day trips to Gunns Plains Cave and Leven Canyon.
Ulverstone sits right at the mouth of the Leven River, a north-west Tasmanian town with one foot in Bass Strait and the other pointing inland towards caves, waterfalls and green farming country. Mornings might begin with coffee on King Edward Street and end with second-hand books under one arm; afternoons belong to the river path, Buttons Beach or a boat nosing upstream beneath sea eagles and kingfishers.
In This Guide
Things to Do in Ulverstone and Surrounds
Leven Canyon
Forty-five minutes inland from Ulverstone, the landscape suddenly drops away. Leven Canyon’s 1.2-kilometre circuit threads through ferny forest to Cruickshanks and Edge lookouts, with the Leven River twisting 275 metres below. The whole walk takes around 45 minutes, although the steep staircase between lookouts will make your calves aware of the occasion. On damp days, fungi flare bright along the track and the gorge turns deep green.
42 kilometres from Ulverstone, Leven Canyon Regional Reserve, Nietta
Preston Falls
Preston Falls is a detour that barely interrupts the day. Around 25 kilometres south of Ulverstone, a short track slips through blackwood forest to a lookout over a 25-metre plunge dropping cleanly into Preston Gorge. It is also known as Delaneys Falls, though the roadside signs use Preston. Five minutes from the car, suddenly you are looking straight across a dark, ferny ravine with water disappearing into it.
Raymond Road, Preston
Leven River Cruise
Leven River Cruises runs the only commercial cruises on the Leven, aboard the 16-seat Jus’Leven with local captain Kim. Trips range from a one-hour bay loop to history cruises, birdwatching runs and a four-hour forest journey with a short walk and picnic. Keep an eye out for sea eagles, azure kingfishers and the occasional platypus; twilight departures trade wildlife spotting for blankets, cheese and a BYO bottle as the river darkens.
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Gunns Plains Cave
Thirty kilometres south of Ulverstone, a patch of ordinary-looking farmland hides something much stranger underneath. Gunns Plains Cave drops visitors down 54 concrete steps into a 275-metre route of calcite shawls, flowstone, glow worms and lofty chambers carved by an underground river. That river is still alive with fish, eels and giant freshwater crayfish, while platypus nest in its sandy banks. Tours run daily, and the cave stays damp enough that sensible shoes are worth the wardrobe sacrifice.
46 Caves Road, Gunns Plains
Lillico Beach Penguin Viewing & Buttons Beach
Just east of Ulverstone, Lillico Beach turns into a nightly little-penguin commute after dark. Watch from the purpose-built platform as birds shuffle back from Bass Strait towards their burrows, keeping torches red and voices low so the colony can get on with things undisturbed.
Back in town, Buttons Beach is the daytime counterpart: a long sweep of sand with a patrolled swimming section near the surf club, space for dogs further along and enough room for the classic towel, chips and sandy-feet afternoon.
Pedal Buggies Tasmania
Pedal Buggies Tasmania turns the Leven River path into a very good excuse to pedal nowhere particularly fast. Choose a single, double or family buggy and follow roughly five kilometres of riverside paths, with baby seats and a wheelchair trailer available too. The bigger outing is the Surrey Bike ride to Turners Beach Berry Patch, where wood-fired pizza and ice cream make an excellent finish line.
2 Beach Road, Ulverstone
Goat Island and Three Sisters Nature Reserve
At low tide, Goat Island briefly stops being an island. Rock flats link the 23-metre islet to shore, opening up tide pools, shallow caves, unusual seaweed and an old rock ‘fish trap’ along the way. Just offshore, the Three Sisters remain bird territory, three rocky islets protected as sanctuaries.
Sitchu Tip: Check the tides before crossing: once Bass Strait comes back in, so does the island.
Vintage & Homewares Shopping
Ulverstone has excellent rummaging credentials. Pete Jermy’s packs thousands of second-hand and antiquarian books onto its shelves, overseen by a bookseller who once drummed with The Honeycombs. Leven Antiques Centre moves from Georgian glass and sterling silver to ceramics, jewellery and an adjoining fern nursery, while Nest on Risby fills a former mechanic’s workshop with homewares, clothing and pieces from small makers.
Sitchu Tip: Leave room in the car.
Hive Tasmania
Hive Tasmania packs an unexpected amount into one Main Street building: Tasmania’s largest dome planetarium, the state’s first science centre, the Ulverstone Museum, an art gallery and community studios. Planetarium sessions move from dark matter to the night sky above Tasmania, while the science centre gets hands-on with local geology, agriculture and energy. Current exhibitions reach from Rodin bronzes to the rich red soils of the North West.
50 Main Street, Ulverstone
Ulverstone Waterslide
One of Ulverstone’s best summer quirks is hiding beside Fairway Park: roughly 60 metres of fibreglass chute curling towards a warm landing pool with Bass Strait beyond it. Ulverstone Waterslide has even had a substantial refurbishment in recent years, but retains all the analogue holiday appeal. It runs weekends from November to March and daily through the summer school holidays, weather permitting. Swimsuit on, ten rides, chips afterwards. Tasmania, 1997, in spirit.
Beach Road, Ulverstone
Where to Eat and Drink in Ulverstone
Windows on Westella
Windows on Westella is attached to the Tasmanian Pickled Onions factory, surrounded by Broad Acres Vineyard, and somehow turns that combination into one of Ulverstone’s more distinctive lunches. Fish and chips arrive with pickled onions, the big brekkie folds them into chorizo and grilled onions, and dessert waffles go the other way entirely. Order a glass of the estate Pinot Noir, peer into the production room, then leave with a jar or two from the pantry.
100 Westella Drive, Ulverstone
Turners Beach Berry Patch
Turners Beach Berry Patch is one of those places that makes a very strong argument for eating dessert before lunch. In summer, you can pick strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and tayberries straight from the field, then follow with house-made berry ice cream or a wood-fired pizza topped with Tasmanian lamb, local feta or prawns. The dessert pizzas go fully off-script too, with berry jam, Tasmanian walnuts, honey, chocolate and ice cream.
Reopens November 2026
24 Blackburn Drive, Turners Beach
Milicia Trattoria
Milicia is the dinner booking Ulverstone deserves. The kitchen works from family recipes, slow-fermented dough and Tasmanian produce, sending out calamari, Gamberetti pasta, branzino, gremolata cauliflower and panuozzo from a compact menu that knows when to stop. Finish with tiramisu or the gloriously unnecessary panettone calzone, then a glass of house limoncello. Rendered walls, terrazzo and handmade timber tables keep the room warm without stealing attention from the plate.
25 King Edward Street, Ulverstone
The Pier
The Pier gives Ulverstone a waterside bistro with a little more heft than the view suggests. Island State beers pour across the bar while the kitchen moves from Chicken 65 and bourbon-maple ribs to King Island sirloin, oysters Kilpatrick and a changing fish special. Time it for late afternoon, when the deck catches the last light over the Leven and live music starts drifting through the room.
3 Wharf Road, Ulverstone
Buttons Brewing
Buttons Brewing started in 2017 with Josh Roberts’ home-brewed Hazard Pale Ale and now runs a small production brewery and cellar door in Ulverstone. The core six span pale ale, draught, session ale, brown ale, IPA and lager, with limited releases rotating through the taps. Hazard still leads the pack, built on Cascade and Vic Secret hops with a caramel malt base. Fridays and Sundays bring food trucks, takeaway cans and one very good house rule: bring a record and they’ll put it on.
32 Short Street, Ulverstone
32 Short Street, Ulverstone
Seventy Acres
Seventy Acres is much more than the cafe attached to Hive Tasmania. Breakfast can mean a burrito loaded with seasoned potato, bacon, beans, guacamole and lime aioli, or an Eggs Benny croissant under hollandaise; lunch gets meatier with The Acreage, a Wagyu rump roll with mozzarella and smoky tomato relish. The hot box has its own loyalists too, especially the Benny scrolls, loaded sausage rolls and deep-dish cookies. Allpress coffee keeps pace, with the planetarium waiting upstairs.
50 Main Street, Ulverstone
Hey Buddy
Hey Buddy is the West Ulverstone cafe to know for a breakfast that runs a little bigger than eggs on toast. The menu swings from Southern-style fried chicken with slaw and seasoned chips to a Reuben, pesto-parmesan eggs and an unapologetically stacked breakfast bun, with local free-range eggs doing plenty of the heavy lifting. The 70s-ish fit-out keeps things cheerful without tipping into theme park.
35 Queen Street, West Ulverstone
Thirty Three Cups
Thirty Three Cups is an Ulverstone breakfast-and-lunch stalwart that still makes almost everything from scratch, leaning heavily on produce from around Tasmania’s north west. The menu runs all day, so chocolate-chip pancakes with butterscotch, caramelised banana and vanilla ice cream are entirely acceptable at noon, while the cake cabinet is stacked with house-made slices, friands and tarts. It’s fully licensed too, should brunch require a little escalation.
26 King Edward Street, Ulverstone
Where to Stay in Ulverstone and Nearby
Cherry Cottage
Cherry Cottage is an old Federation home with its original bones still showing: front veranda, gentle garden, two bedrooms and enough period detail to keep things interesting without tipping into museum piece. Buttons Beach is a short walk away, as are Ulverstone’s cafes and shops, which makes mornings very simple. Coffee outside, beach before lunch, book on the sofa later.
Ulverstone, Tasmania
Serenity by the Sea
Serenity by the Sea is made for the group trip that still needs breathing room. Five minutes from Turners Beach, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house sleeps six and opens wide through floor-to-ceiling windows and stacking doors onto a sunny deck and garden. There’s a wood heater for cooler nights, a serious kitchen for staying in, and Turners Beach Berry Patch close enough to make breakfast plans very easy.
Turners Beach, Tasmania
Forth River Cottage
Forth River Cottage sits right on the banks of the Forth River, ten minutes from Devonport and about an hour from Cradle Mountain. It sleeps two, with a queen bedroom, open-air bath, fire pit and breakfast provisions that can include eggs from the property’s chickens, local bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and fruit. Evenings are best spent outside by the river with something warm in a mug and the paddocks going dark around you.
Forth, Tasmania
Book your stay with Booking.com
Arc Pavilion
Arc Pavilion is the Bell sisters’ sculptural take on a tiny house, set across Forthside farmland with the valley falling away towards Bass Strait. Inside, much of the furniture and art has been made by the sisters themselves, alongside French linen, a wood fire and double rain shower. Outside, there’s a bath facing the paddocks, while an off-grid solar and battery system quietly powers the whole thing.
Forthside, Tasmania
Book your stay with Compass Hut
The Church
A former church and schoolhouse, The Church still has the proportions to prove it: high ceilings, a book-filled loft and enough room for eight across four sleeping spaces. The beach is 100 metres away, Turners Beach Berry Patch is a five-minute wander, and back home there’s a wood heater, two living areas and a front lawn made for a late glass of wine while the kids burn off the last of the day.
Turners Beach, Tasmania
Amarè Beachside Luxury
Amarè Beachside Luxury sits right on Turners Beach with just three private suites, each with a king bed, deck and hot outdoor shower for the post-swim rinse. Fireplaces, stocked minibars and breakfast provisions make staying in easy; the Signature Deluxe goes further with a round soaking bath and outdoor jacuzzi. Borrow one of the complimentary bikes for the coastal path, then come back for the sound of the tide over the pebbles.
43 Esplanade, Turners Beach
Book your stay with Amare Beachside Luxury
Book your stay with Booking.com
The best things to do in Ulverstone make a uniquely Taswegian argument for staying longer than the lunch stop you may have planned. There is the Leven River curling through town, Buttons Beach at the edge of it, penguins coming ashore nearby, caves and canyon country inland, and a surprisingly good run of coffee, antiques and small-town food in between. For more Tasmania travel ideas, keep going with our guides to the Huon Valley and East Coast Tasmania.
