Mt Maroon

GPS Tracks

Mount Maroon (GPX)

Mt Maroon provides some of the best views in South-East Queensland, with a 360 degree views ranging from Lamington NP through Mt Barney, the length of Main Range and the Moogerah Peaks.

No facilties on site, be sure to bring toilet paper etc.
Bring plenty of water and food/snacks.

Lookouts

Scrambling or Climbing

Navigation Required

Eucalypt Forest

960m

Maximum Elevation

660m

Total Climb

Add to
My Wishlist

Tick Walk

Getting there

The track leaves from the end of Cotswold Rd which turns South of Boonah-Rathdowney Rd 2.7km East of Maroon township. The track ends at a small dam about 3.5km from the turnoff.

Maps

The Maroon 1:25000 covers the area.

Route/Trail notes

Follow the open hill just south-west of the dam. A reasonably clear track leads up the hill reasonably quickly (I wouldn't say it's steep, but if you've been doing graded tracks it'll get the heart pumping... ok, it's fairly steep!).

This track leads into a gully with some spectacular cliffs off to the right. If you're into rock climbing this cliff offers some good options. Just search for Ruby of India to get started.

Climb up the gully, taking care not to dislodge rocks down on your fellow hikers. At the top of the gully a track leads through a small area of vegetation before emerging at the base of the main, bald peak. Simply wind your way up this peak to the large cairn at the top and enjoy the views.

There are some trail markers along the way - orange triangles - but you should have reasonable navigation skills to attempt this one.

GPS Tracks

Mount Maroon (GPX)

Comments

post about ascending via paddys plain was actually done on the 7th of August 2011... Pity you can't edit your previous walks...anyway this time we ascended via Cotswold track as it is now open, didn't have a problem finding the track to the right, yes it goes down a bit, but it does go back up I found this the most exciting part of the walk, made our way to the top of Maroon where we had lunch and chatted with another group, today was a fairly fast ascent and decent as one of us had to start work that afternoon..
Walkinghawk on 14 Apr, 2012

Loved this walk/climb. Steep in, then a scramble up the gorge to a few peaks with 360 views. Can be cold up top.
WorldWalker on Apr, 2012

Great walk. Went solo and didn't run into anyone else. My fitness is pretty low at the moment, so it was quite a slow ascent. The track is not always well defined, but I managed to find the track leading off the the right with no trouble - I didn't have to turn back after hitting the cliff as others have mentioned. I can see how you'd ignore it, as it heads quite a way down before going back up. As there have been rock slides/track changes since it was written the 'Take a Walk in SEQ' guide was not perfect in places, but useful in others. This time of year it is best to head up early as it gets quite hot out there, but there was shade to be found in most parts. Spent quite a bit of time at the top and was back at the carpark in 5 hours.
ggoodey on 10 Mar, 2012

The second best bushwalk in SEQ. I love the "garden of eden" in the small valley once you reach the top of the gully. Fantastic views! I also have climbed up along the south ridge (bush-whacking up this route).
RobboShoe on Mar, 2012

Great walk. But beware the trail is not well marked and a crucial point is where you are at the top of the ridge you have to turn right and go down to reach the gully for the scramble climb.

If you miss this point and keep going up the ridge for another 100 metres you will reach a cliff face. If you are a everyday hiker it is obvious that it is too steep to climb but I do a lot of free climbing/scrambling on pretty steep faces. So when I was there I didn't know I was at the wrong route and started to climb that cliff face, we went up by about 50 metres it got more steep, though I could keep going my friend that came along with me couldn't and we didn't bring rope. He had a very hard time going back down (close to nearly needing to be rescued).

So basically just want everyone to know when you reach the cliff face please turn back it is not the main route and if you go up it you may get stuck. It does look like it's possible to go up to the peak from that climb but it not recommended without rope.
CH33 on 21 Feb, 2012

Great walk with excellent company. K2 Extreme Adventure guide with our group totalling 6. Very hot day and didn't eat right before hand ( lesson learnt ). Incredible views from the peak to Mt Barney and surrounding areas into northern NSW. Could make out the peak of Mt Warning in the distance. Garmin eTrex GPS was absolutely spot on with 1:25000 Topo MGRS references.
davealex on 22 Jan, 2012

Quite a steep hike, with a bit of scrambling. Enjoyable!!
peter10001 on 23 Dec, 2011

Great walk. beautiful views. Took 4hrs 4mins to get back to the car after stopping for lunch and exploring the amazing peaks. Not many markers but is easy enough to get through without them. Loved the rock climbing.
jen on 5 Nov, 2011

Experienced a 'white out' on the mountain for ascent to summit and descent - take precautions.
Badger on 29 Oct, 2011

Had a walk up to the top via Cotswold. loose underfoot and the gully seems to be steeper.
Laurence Hallam on 27 Sep, 2011

My third time here but this time it was via paddy's plain since the closure of the Cotswold route. This way is very interesting with a great diversity of landscapes, but it's a long walk including exploring Paddy's falls it took around 9hrs to complete.
mika28au on 2 May, 2011

Another great walk! Although it is closed now due to rock fall in the gully! Hope it is not closed as long as last time.
Laurence Hallam on 10 Sep, 2010

Another great climb took the nephew. Magnificent sunrise!
Laurence Hallam on 8 Aug, 2010

Cotswold track is a classic ridge track & gully hike.
Enjoy the slog up the ridge, observe the main gully under the cliffline to your right this is the gully you need to take, the track descends down a little into the gully under the cliff, then ascend this gully.
exo karpos on 24 Jul, 2010

Left home at 3.30am. Got there at 5.15am. Watched the glorious sunrise from the summit and descended. It was rather chilly at the top but a hot cup of coffee and the sun rise was worth the effort.
Laurence Hallam on 18 Jul, 2010

First time up this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. A good challenge, got lost three times, but finally made it. Views incredible. :)
Donizen on 13 Jun, 2010

Very steep rocky walk. Navigational skills required.
Boris Zoubakin on 9 Jan, 2010

Due to a recent fire some of the green markers on the trees are not visible. Most of the markers are visible on the downward route but hard to find when making your way to the top. Two orange triangle markers are easily visible on the rocks. some trees have markings on them.
Boris Zoubakin on 9 Jan, 2010

Over the winter months the trail has been remarked. Just follow the green dots!
Allan Allport on 31 Oct, 2009

Still a great view. A recent rockfall (last year or so?) has made the track a little harder to follow, but still basically same approach.

Still worth the walk!
Richard Mason on 7 Jun, 2009