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

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

Comments

Very easy walk. The most challenging part of the hike is finding a car park. There is very limited spots in awkward locations. It is not a normal carpark and you may find yourself parking between some trees on the side of the dirt road somewhere. Also be warned there are literally no facilities, not even a toilet. Make sure you go beforehand.

The scrambling section is not exposed nor technical. There is no danger of losing your life or falling off a sheer cliff. If the idea of scrambling puts you off, do not worry, this is very simple and as long as you follow the path it is very acheiveable.

The view of Mt. Barney from the summit was great. Makes for dramatic photos.
We completed the hike in 4 hours instead of the suggested 6 hours that the national park website claims. This included liberalwater breaks and a 35 minute lunch stop.

Andy on 16 Apr, 2022

Another stellar morning on maroon. Fog masked the sunrise but still a pristine climb.
Although this hike is mega popular, you should still be respecting the serenity of other hikers… so leave your bloody drones at home. Nothing worse than making the effort to get up at 2 am and climb a mountain for sunrise just to listen to the constant whirring of drones in your ear. Never been more in a rush to leave a summit.

Amanda J on 3 Apr, 2022

With Nic, Lachlan and Vanessa

Woody B on 15 Jan, 2022

Good walk, great views. Is very steep.

samkramer on 10 Oct, 2021

Stunning 360 degrees views. 2h up, 1.5h down.
Campsite at the top for overnight expeditions.

Jana on 3 Oct, 2021

Mount Maroon is one of my all time favourites to climb! Relatively steep ascent with plenty of very inetresting rock formations along the way. You will come to a point where the track seems to lead you to a sharp descent, don't worry this is where you are meant to go! From the bottom of the descent, the scrambling begins. The views and scenery at the top are just breath taking, there's a wonderful stream on the saddle with huge trees on its edges. Spectacular views of Mount Barney and Mt Lindesay from the summit. Highly Recommend!

Warlock Bride on 2 Oct, 2021

Challenging but super fun hike with some joyful rock scrambling. The old knees felt it on the way down but well worth the effort.

Indie on 28 Aug, 2021

Mt Maroon is on Yuggerah country. This one was tough - it brought me to near tears and slight panic - and I would not recommend going alone, like I did, unless you are good at navigating or have a compass/AllTrails. Both which I did not until now... lesson learned. The view was absolutely stunning and worth it, however I did get lost a couple of times coming down and it can be really disorientating. It took me 1 hour 50 minutes up, and 1 hour 20 minutes down. Most of the hike is actual scrambling and I would recommend hiking shoes. I do think this walk requires a good level of fitness at minimum, and for me it was challenging but certainly not impossible or tempting to turn around at any point from a fitness perspectives. It was a fairly heavily trafficked walk even though I went later and on a weekday.

Babs on 27 Aug, 2021

Hard but worth it. 360 views from the top are magnificent. It’s quite a steep trail up the gullies involving rock scrambling so a reasonable level of fitness and flexibility is needed. Took us 5 hours return, plus 30 minutes on the summit for morning tea with views!

Olwyn on 21 Aug, 2021

Really good hike. If you do attempt this make sure you arrive early (and if you want it nice and quiet go on a week day, weekends are usually rather busy. On the way back down from the summit make sure you pay attention to the trail and carry some sort of GPS device/map. Made the mistake of not paying attention properly and ended up veering off track. Should take about 3 and half hours or so return.

melted_cheese on 20 Aug, 2021

Lovely climb. Lots of uphill walking. Don’t be fooled, there is a section where the arrows stop pointing up and direct you downhill - this is the way to the climbing section so rest assured you are still on the right track. The climb is great! Not too challenging but satisfying enough for those who want a thrill. The top is breathtaking! The stream at the top is the most serene sight and you’ll see gigantic trees! Definitely recommend.

Warlock Bride on 12 Jul, 2021

Went up my first time for a sunrise. Nice and challenging on the legs; it wasn’t too difficult to find my way up in the dark, just with a headlamp.
Took map and compass, though it wasn’t needed.
Departed the car park at 3:50 am, and arrived at the summit at 6:13

Tim-E on 4 Jul, 2021

rewarding

Blythe Bishop on 27 Jun, 2021

A steady, steep climb to the summit. Beautiful views, but very busy being a weekend which detracted from the experience. I'd like to do it again on a week day when it's hopefully less crowded.

Monstar on 20 Jun, 2021

Not too strenuous hike of 3h45 minutes up and down (about 700m from car park to summit) with a few short breaks on the way up and down. (5.4km round trip). Walk-able climb to start, a dip, then a scrambling climb to a pre summit flat area and then easy climb walk to summit.

Monte Hague on 20 Jun, 2021

Second time climbing Mt. Maroon. Amazing views from the top. Challenging, but satisfying!

Sally on 29 May, 2021

Did this for the third time in 4 weeks as prep for Logans Ridge hike at the end of the month. Started walking at 7am and made the summit at 8:18 and had the place to ourselves until 2 others joined us, they planned on getting there for sunrise but got lost and spent hours finding the way up, but were still very cheerful. Lots of others coming up as we went down so glad we started fairly early and beat the crowds. Getting very busy as this time of the year on Saturdays so start early if you don't want others sending rocks down on your head.

jgmansell on 15 May, 2021

Did this walk for the second time this month in perfect conditions. We arrived at about 7am to find over 20 cars parked, I hadn't realised that there was so much parking space before. As we started climbing we soon passed a couple of small groups going up before several others came down after they went up early to catch the sunrise. We got to the summit in an hour and a half and only had to share the space with 4 other walkers. On the way down there were a few large groups of over a dozen in each heading up and when we got back to the carpark there was over 30 cars, so my advice is get there early if the weather is good and it is a weekend, or else the summit will be crowded.

jgmansell on 8 May, 2021

A tough constant uphill walk but really pleasant in partial cloud and 24 degrees.

Leanne Loch on 3 May, 2021

The first 1-2 km are a killer and you just have to endure the steep incline, once the rock scrambling starts it gets a little easier and then you are almost at the top.

Anonymous on 17 Apr, 2021

Where

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