Mt Blaine Summit Trail

A challenging track to the summit of Mt Blaine. The trail consists of steep inclines and rock scrambling. The summit provides 360 degree view over Brisbane, Ipswich and the scenic rim and a great view of Flinders Peak. The track goes up the northern side, over the summit and back down the southern side. High level of fitness, off track experience, scrambling experience and solid boots are all recommended. Do not attempt this climb if you have knee problems, nervous conditions or vertigo.

Lookouts

Scrambling or Climbing

Eucalypt Forest

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Getting there

Take the Mount Flinders Road offthe Ipswich-Boonah Road at Peak Crossing. Follow this unsealed road to the end which terminates at the Flinders Plum Picnic area. Take the Mt Blaine Hiking Track from the picnic area and follow it to the end which is at base of the mountian. A council information sign marks the start of the route.

Maps

Which maps cover the area?

Route/Trail notes

From the council sign follow the fire trail up the incline to the barb wire fence. Continue past the fence and locate a rough track on the right which leads uphill. Follow the track through the scrub until you reach a hillside of loose rocks. There a lighter coloured rocks in the middle which mark the path up and you can regain the track at the top of the rocks. The track continues to climb through the scrub. The track is overgrown to the sides with scrub and grass but the track is easy to see as it is defined on the ground and the dirt is red. There are parts with loose rocks and a scramble up a large rock face which can get slippery. Past the scramble the scrub gets a bit thicker but it is hard to diverge from the track. After some time you will reach the summit and enjoy the views. When you want to go down find the trail on the other side of the peak. Look for the big Prickly Pear. This side of the mountain is covered in dry vine-forest and is more dense. The ground is more rocky and there are a lot more loond slipping hazards. At the base you join up with the Skyline Ridge track and walk back to the picnic area.

Alternatively you can go in reverse. Take the Sandy Creek Track from the picnic area and after 1.6km you will reach a junction where you go left of the creek. Walk a further 600m up the hill and you will reach the trail head for the southern side. There are clear markers indicating the start of the track. The track is not very visible.

Permits/Costs

No permit needed/Free

Other References

How can I find more info? Any guide books?

GPS Tracks

No GPS available for this walk yet.

Comments

Challenging in sections but very enjoyable
Emma on 2 Jun, 2018

After having walked up to the saddle previously with the kids, we finally had a kid free day today so we were able to ascend to the summit; and oh man was it worth it!

Very difficult rock scramble at times, but given that I did this in old joggers (not boots!) and still came out unscathed, it's definitely not the worst kind of climb. Coming down the other side to the Skyline Ridge Trail was slow going, mainly sliding down or climbing backwards! Plenty of orange tape to guide our way although not right near the beginning of the path coming down from the summit, so probably fairly easy to miss. For anyone who is trying to find it, compass direction east from the summit, look down and you'll see a barely trodden path. Head down a bit and you should see some faded orange strip tied around a branch. They are virtually continuous all of the way down from there, but be careful on the way down as footholds are few in places, and the only thing that stopped me falling a few times were the vines I was holding.

Descending the other side and through the Skyline Ridge Trail leads to the end of Sandy creek, and it's just a simple 2km walk back to the parking area. Best. Hike. So far!
eiscaer on 1 Jun, 2018

Nice shortish walk (around 90 minutes return). Starts from the same carpark as Flinders and tracks along a dirt road. There will be an information sign on your right for Mt Blaine with a faint track, be sure to take that one. You can still climb the mountain from the track found a bit further on at the barbed wire fence, but it gets a little ... spidery. Short but steep and slippery track to the summit with loose rocks galore and a lot of opportunities to fall over. At the top there is a nice clearing with a 360 degree view and a book you can sign, and also a snap lock bag with some fairly suspiscious looking items (like the spoon and the lighter...). Wouldn't say this walk is very hard, more medium than anything.
Vonsnrub on 12 May, 2018

360 views. Well worth the walk. Track a little over grown in parts, but still easy enough to follow
Dan on 17 Feb, 2018

Extremely overgrown in some areas just before the peak. Only got lost once! Wear your best hiking shoes and if it hasn't rained in a while, prepare to get dirty. Walking back down was very difficult, slid about 80% of the way. View from the top worth it though!
scuttsy on 20 Jan, 2018

Another walk up (west) and back down (east). Great views. Lots of slippery rocks going up and down. Hardly ever used so almost guaranteed to be by yourself.
Great views of Flinder's Peak!
Juiced Pixels on 5 Feb, 2017

A very enjoyable walk/scramble to the summit. It was raining over the weekend so it was a bit muddy/slippery - especially coming down which was a bit harder than going up.

The prickly pear cacti at the summit were in bloom which was nice.

I ended up coming down the way I came up because I couldn't find the marked track that goes down opposite from when I came up - I tried left, right and straight down for a few minutes each and couldn't see any pieces of tape so I came back up and went down the regular way. Which way is down?
Juiced Pixels on 28 Nov, 2016

Great little climb, really enjoyed the scrambling. Not too many mountains in this area track directly up the angle of repose so slipping rocks and dirt WILL be encountered on this trip!

This is a much quicker alternative to Flinders but still quite enjoyable.
dalehikes on 6 Nov, 2016

Great climb. More climb and rock scramble then anything. Didn't see any gold diggers. Maybe they hit rich!! Heaps of rocks, kind of like Mt Flinders.
Jo on 22 Oct, 2016

Trail to the saddle is steep but well defined, however the mountain itself is very rough barely a path at all which is covered in very loose rocks and dirt. Quite a challenging scramble up. Going down basically slid most of way. Seen some blokes looking for gold.
kvvs on 8 Oct, 2016