St Marys is just 10 kilometres (six miles) from the coast, but rises 600 metres (1,969 feet) above sea level. You can reach the town from the coast by crossing the mountains via St Marys Pass or Elephant Pass.

With a population of around 600 people the town offers a range of accommodation, a craft gallery, bakery, shops and supermarkets, and the St Marys Hotel, built in 1916, which dominates the town centre.

St Marys is close to many local attractions: you can try the challenging climb to the top of St Patrick’s Head, or the more accessible South Sister Peak, for stunning forest and coastal views. There are also spectacular views from Elephant Pass. Stop here for a plate of delicious, European–style crepes at Mt Elephant Pancakes—a quirky restaurant nestled in the mountains. The Coalminers’ Heritage Wall and Heritage Walk at the tiny settlement of Cornwall is a monument to the miners who hand-tunnelled a coal mine beneath the Mt. Nicholas Range. You can also visit nearby waterfalls, go fishing at Lake Leake or bushwalking in Douglas Apsley National Park.

St Patrick’s Head was sighted and named by Captain Tobias Furneaux from his ship, the Adventure, on St Patrick’s Day 1773. Settlement in the area began in the 1840s with the establishment of a convict probation station. Both St Mary’s Pass and Elephant Pass were carved out by a team of 300 convicts, connecting the area to the coast. A now-vanished railway line reached the town in 1866, but the original railway station can still be seen in the town. St Marys’ 150th anniversary was celebrated in 2007.

The weather on Tasmania’s east coast is typically settled and warm, with an average maximum temperature of 22.5 degrees Celsius (72.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in summer and 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-75 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter.