From St Helens you can explore Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires, which extend to Eddystone Point. The Bay of Fires (named by British Captain Tobias Furneaux, who only saw the smoke from the fires of the local Kunnara Kuna tribe) is a coast of white sandy beaches dotted with giant granite boulders. Extensive kelp forests and underwater caves make the area popular with divers.

St Helens is a fishing port sheltered by Georges Bay and the long headland of St Helens Point, 1,066 hectares (2,500 acres) of which is reserved as a public conservation area. On the other side of the bay is Humbug Point, which is also protected.

The town was established in the 1830s when tin was discovered in the Blue Tier mountains. The history of the town and the region is told in displays in the St Helens History Room.

The average temperature in January is 23 degrees Celsius (73.5 degrees Fahrenheit), while in June it's a mild 14.5 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit). The town is 163 kilometres (101 miles) from Launceston and 265 kilometres (165 miles) from Hobart.