Dove Lake is the front door to Cradle Mountain for most visitors. The circuit walk around the lake is long enough to feel like a proper outing but straightforward enough for many travellers with decent shoes and weatherproof clothing.
The famous view is from the northern end, looking across dark water to the mountain. Keep walking, though: the track moves through buttongrass, forest, lake-edge beaches, and glacier-smoothed rock, which gives a better sense of the landscape than a quick photo stop.