Hartz Mountains National Park, with its lonely alpine moorland and its glistening lakes, has long been a very special day visit destination for Tasmanians. Now, following a concentrated effort by Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service to provide vastly better amenities and generally lift its profile, this dramatic World Heritage Area locale is being promoted to interstate and overseas visitors as their best chance to see the State's alpine regions in comfort.

With only a modicum of exertion, walkers can make the two hour trek to the top of Hartz Peak to savour a spectacular Southwest Wilderness vista. Or, with even less effort, they can enjoy a shorter and easier 20 minute duckboarded walk to Lake Osborne, a highland tarn set against the rugged splendour of the Devil's Backbone, a dolerite ridge that runs lengthwise through this 7,140 hectare park.

The park is only 90 minutes away from Hobart, making it the closest World Heritage Area park to any Australian Capital.

Visitors can drive there via a much improved gravel road from Geeveston. Inside the park, the once very rough vehicular track leading to a walker registration shelter has been significantly upgraded, with ample car parking provided. There's a new information shelter as you enter the park, and the old stone day use area has been given a facelift and will become even more popular with the addition of free gas barbecues.

Short walks not far from the park entrance lead to two waterfalls worth seeing. Near Waratah Hut and the picnic area, visitors get a nice view of Keogh Falls and the southern forests from a new viewing platform; about two kilometres away is the start of a ten minute newly upgraded walking track to Arve Falls and another platform that seemingly hangs out in space over the Arve River.

Good quality walking tracks lead from the car park circle to Hartz Peak, Lake Osborne and to smaller glacial tarns that have been created over the last 20,000 years or so. The surrounding mountains are ancient, rising up around 165 million years ago.

In the park's lower reaches, stands of stringy bark, myrtle, sassafras, leatherwood and native laurel create a mysterious yet appealing wet forest environment. As you gain in elevation, the sub alpine landscape becomes dominated by three species of eucalypts - the snow gum, varnished gum and yellow gum. On the high plateau, groups of stunted trees are interspersed with open heathlands.

In summer you can enjoy the sight of large bushes full of Tasmanian waratah with its conspicuous red flowers, various seasonal wildflowers, other endemic Tasmanian plants such as dwarf leatherwood, the pandani and the rare alpine gum. All can be seen from the walks.

Wildlife in the park is not so easily spotted as at other parks around the State, so there is little interpretation emphasis. Most of the mammals are nocturnal and are usually out and about only at dusk or dawn.

Echidnas and wombats can sometimes be seen during daylight hours, and at dusk you stand a fair chance of spotting a wallaby, pademelon or possum. Depending on season, you may catch sight of a cuckoo or a pardalote. More common in the park are rosellas, ravens and honeyeaters.

Although camping and longer stays are permitted, Hartz is mainly for the day visitor. Use of a portable stove is essential if you are staying in the park for a long spell, but this is something that very few people do. Clearly the emphasis is on short walks.

Even when it isn't snowing, it's often wet. The average rainfall is 1800mm and the wind can sometimes howl unimpeded across the flat terrain. But on a cloudless day when the deep blue tarns are sparkling in the afternoon sun and the dolerite peaks stand in silent majesty over the wildflower bedecked heathlands, Hartz Mountain National Park is among the most sublime and appealing locales on earth.

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