From Hobart: 5 km | Faces: East into the River Derwent | Length: 1 km
While not recommended for swimming it has great foreshore walks, an excellent playground, BBQ facilities and good amenities. It backs onto an open oval for other activities and has great views of the bridge and the River Derwent. You can often see many birds in the bay, including ducks, swans, coots and seagulls.
Cornelian Bay is an ideal spot for a picnic with large open grass areas, BBQs, and fantastic views. Two BBQs, one near amenities, the other about 200m away. The playground is about 100m from toilets.
You also have the Boathouse Restaurant for dining or the kiosk for takeaways. Dogs allowed on-leash on the foreshore track or off-leash on the adjoining oval.
Original people: The Aboriginal Mouheneenner band lived in the Cornelian Bay area for 8000 years – shell middens can still be seen at the top of the low cliffs of Cornelian Point (north), as well as other interesting geological features.
Cornelian Bay was named by British navigator Lieutenant John Hayes in 1793. While exploring the Derwent River, Hayes came ashore and discovered numerous reddish, semi-precious carnelian stones (a variety of silica also called cornelian) on the beach, leading him to name the area after the gemstones.