Comments

Great weather early in the morning for this walk.Terrific views from both lookouts & can't argue with tea & damper at the bottom of the climb for purchase at the Spring Festival. Good atmosphere with heaps of people climbing up the mountain. Probably will have a go again next year or the year after

Bribie 61 on 21 Aug, 2022

This year the walk opened at 6:30am, $10 per person aged 12 and up..all proceeds for charity. If you start early, the fog/mist/ cloudy haze reduces the clarity of the views at the summits (2 different viewing areas with amazing views) . The temperature was nicer earlier than the humid heat of later in the day (it felt a bit like summer later). If you start later, theres alot more crowds (thousands hike this in one day) and alot of the rocks become loose/ easily dislodged. I saw people slipping and skidding for that reason. It's a bit of a walk to the base of the mountain too, but there was a tractor riding people to and from. Loved being able to do this mountain, and the crowds made the atmosphere more interesting! The festival included a radio station there (I got interviewed :D), food stalls, live music, paid helicopter rides, other stalls from locals, prizes, facepainting, Mt Cooroy merch etc. At 1pm the helicopter dropped 1,000 tennis balls from the sky. You have to walk through rainforest before the mountain base, and children could get a piece of paper and pencil to tick off the animal toys they found hidden by staff in the rainforest. People travelled just for this event, I'll probably attend annually. SES and first aid are on hand, were handy to remove my tick. Saw children of many ages doing this as well as families and older folk. Theres also designated rest areas along the way, as well as portaloos and cold bottled water for purchase before the mountain base. Cooroyrotary.org.au had all the info! Why not do Mt Tinbeerwah while youre in this area? You can drive up 90% of the way up the mountain with only a 10-15 min (non-steep) walk to spectacular 360 degree views!! I'm a local to the sunshine coast and post photos of my hikes to instagram.com/spring_beans

Hannah MC on 18 Aug, 2019

Rocky walk to the top, lots of places to rest. Good atmosphere for the festival.

Linda on 18 Aug, 2019

An awesome family day out. Did it with our 6 year old. Took about 1 hour 20 minutes return with a decent stop at the top for lunch. Was great to see so many people of different ages and fitness levels all give it a go. A lot of parents with young bubs strapped to them to give them an extra workout in the legs. Will definitely return next year.

Cityofangels on 18 Aug, 2019

After an ill-fated attempt to climb Mt Cooroy earlier in the year I begrudgingly decided to go during the Cooroy Festival. There are properties all along the perimeter of the mountain so there really isn't any way up there without trespassing unless you do it on the one designated day a year. Track was quite nice, views from the top were mint. Very crowded, lots of waiting in queues, lots of people tripping over and dislodging rocks, having people flick branches back into your face, standstills when 2 people going in opposing directions stop to have a chat blocking everyone going up and down. Not the same etiquette you get among more experienced hikers. Won't be doing it again, was more of a box ticking exercise, would have been a nice climb without all the people.

Vonsnrub on 18 Aug, 2019

Once a year opportunity so crowds are heavy. Enjoyed some scrambling around main path and run up down in good time. Did it twice for good measure!

Nomadcam on 18 Aug, 2019

This year it opened at 7 am. Costing $10.00.
The instructions and directions given by Aussiebushwalking.com is quite reliable and accurate.
Getting there at that time there was already 50 plus cars there, stalls sets up and people already at the top! Hundreds vied for places on the path, both ascending and descending. There is a long walking track to base camp that acts as a great warm up for the real hike that is Rocky, uneven and ridiculously narrow as it is only open one day a year so that the 'owners' have more than enough time to make it more hospitable.
the route is lined with volunteers by the dozen and even at the top they wait around for our protection.
Back at Base camp food and coffee, soft drinks and even Billy tea and damper await to both entertain and replenish perhaps a 1000-2000 walkers of literally every age.
I was the first to put my name down for a helicopter ride, costing $50 for 8 minutes flight around the mountain that began at 10.30.
Hay rides, pony rides, Noosa brass band and even the jaws of life demonstrated; but one could see there was room for much more.
This is number nine in my mountain climbing ambition.

Paul on 19 Aug, 2018

Been looking forward to climb Mt Cooroy for months and finally get to do it on its festival day.Have about a 1 kilometer walk to the base of the mountain then it's going up! Steep and dusty trail at the start but not too difficult.
The last 120 meters it flattens out.On reaching the viewing point of South West ridge there is plenty of nice smooth rock to sit and enjoy the view.....Amazing outlook of farmland and Sunshine Coast.From here you can head to the Summit which has a large rock you can easily climb on,no view here due to trees.Heading past the summit you have another great viewing point looking North East towards Noosa and Rainbow Beach...Fantastic!
Mt Cooroy is a nice climb but being only open on one day a year it's very busy.Not as hard as Mt Eerwah but better view.
There's a secret how to climb it twice a year!

KidBear on 19 Aug, 2018

Our crew heard about the walk being open during the Cooroy Mountain Spring Festival so we did the drive from Brisbane to give it a go. We knew it would be super crowded so we had no false expectations to be able to do the walk in silence or at our own pace.
It was a great day and wonderful to see so many kids, older folk, and everyone in between tackling the steep walk.
The area at the top was lovely to sit on smooth rocky surfaces for a drink and look out across impressive views.

If you plan on doing it next year, I recommend you start the walk as early as possible. As more and more people do the walk throughout the day, the more eroded and slippery the track gets.

Dvette on 16 Oct, 2016

Walked as part of the Cooroy Mountain Festival. Crazy busy on the trail, parts of the track were pretty slippy on the way down.

AmandaL on 16 Oct, 2016

Great views from the top on both sides. Mountain view and ocean view. Straight forward track, easily followed by joining the conga line of hundreds on the way up. The track was destroyed and became full of loose rocks and dirt which became hazardous. Its a shame the public arent allowed to climb all year round..

dalehikes on 16 Oct, 2016

Busier than Noosa's Hastings Street!

It's all about the mountain and what a fun day with the kids getting to the top within an hour and no complaints! We knew there were going to be a lot of people climbing and recon there had to have been 500 or more on the mountain at any one point in time; about 100 on the top alone, enjoying the two splendid lookouts.

F.A.B. on 16 Oct, 2016

Being aware that this climb has been closed off to the public for some time now, when we got wind of the Cooroy Mountain Festival without hesitation drove up from Brisbane to be a part of the day's charity fundraising event.

Great climb, even though there were lots of traffic on the trail as was expected and suggest to get there early as most families with young children ventured up later in the day.
On our descent, we found that the trail became slippery with the soil loosening up due to the heavy traffic on the day. There were great Eastern and Western views of the Sunshine Coast and its Hinterland, well worth the climb. First climb started at 7am and the last climb was at 1pm. It was great to see the interest to climb Mt Cooroy ranged from all age groups, from young children through to the seniors. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Cooroy who did a great job with organizing the event with food and market stalls and entertainment for everyone. We'll be up for another visit next year!

MeriNips on 16 Oct, 2016

So many people on this mountain, views were amazing. One thing I did love was the helicopter flight.

HelenR on 16 Oct, 2016

It was a fight getting up because it was so busy. The trail is dusty and rocky with many less experienced walkers dislodging sometimes quite large rocks and sending them downhill. We saw a small kid get hit by a rockmelon sized rock that knocked him over. Outside of the obvious traffic you’re going to encounter with this being an annual hike, the views at the top are fantastic. It’s quite flat at the top too so we had a bite to eat before heading down.
The activities at the bottom were great for the kids and there were plenty of stalls selling local wares. Ticked off now but probably won’t be back as we much prefer a quiet trail. I mean, that’s why you go right? To get away.

Kingi on 16 Oct, 2016

Hadn't know we weren't allowed to use it. Lost the track at one point. Good climb.

Lihz on 31 Aug, 2015

No access to mountain through Cooroy Mountain Springwater, very disappointing, is there another way up?

dan on 3 May, 2015

Parked at the Cooroy Mountain Road - Lukes Road intersection and walked up the Cooroy Mountain Springwater driveway and continued up through the paddock to the trail head. It was a Sunday morning and no one bothered us.

I have done this walk a couple times back when Cooroy Mountain Springwater used to have a logbook and allowed access. If I didn't know where to go then we never would have found the trail. The paddock doesn't have cattle in it anymore and was extremely overgrown, we had to push through head high grass until we got to the tree line where the trail begins. From that point on there was pink marker tape every 50 meters or so and it was quite easy to follow all the way to the top. Also there was a lot of large spiders and webs across the track.

The views from the top are awesome, its a shame that its so hard to access.

chunkylover53 on 1 Feb, 2015

I went and asked for permission from Cooroy Mountain Water before I set off. The manager was very reasonable and even gave me a free chilled bottle of Cooroy Mountain Water. I parked just above the factory and set off towards the cliff face of an old quarry? After skirting the cliffs to the left I found a faint trail that had no flags or markings but was more obvious than the surrounding bush. Eventually I came out on a rocky outcrop facing west which gave some great views over the sunny coast hinterland. The summit was reached a little bit further up. A plaque set in the rock by the Cooroy scouts indicates the site of a log book. Beyond this the track drops slightly to another rocky outcrop facing east with magnificent views over Noosa.

Grumps on 9 Dec, 2013

We snuck in around the back of the water factory. We missed the track opening and basically bush bashed almost the whole way. There was a bit of a scramble and lots of underbrush to scratch legs! A magnificent view at the top and then found the track which in hindsight would have been a pleasant stroll! Might go back again to try the proper way. Shame the water company (coca cola) don't provide access to the track.. I love big business!

Susan cramb on 10 Jun, 2013