Bluff Knoll – Hiking the Highest Peak in WA’s Stirling Ranges

29/11/2021

SHARE THIS POST

29/11/2021

SHARE THIS POST

Bluff Knoll is the highest peak in Western Australia’s Stirling Ranges and a hike you’ve gotta add to your bucket list. With striking views of the Stirling Ranges, wildflowers galore, and rugged terrain, Eva says this hike is well worth the 1,099m elevation.

We acknowledge that this adventure is located on Qaaniyan and Koreng Nation, the traditional Country of the Qaaniyan and Koreng people who have occupied and cared for this land and water for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Highlights

Epic views from start to finish
Endemic wildflowers
Four seasons in one hike
Snow! (sometimes)

Busting Our Butts to Bluff Knoll

The peak of the Bluff Knoll is impressive before you even get there. As you drive in it looms large in the distance and towers over the surrounding Stirling Ranges. Looking up from the bottom it’s easy to see why the local Qaaniyan and Koreng people gave it the name Pualaar Miial meaning ‘great many-faced hill’ or place of ‘many eyes’.

The first part of the Bluff Knoll hike takes you through eucalyptus woodland up the northern side of the mountain. Here you’re sheltered from the wind by the mountain itself and you have insane views across the length of the Stirling Ranges every time there’s a gap in the trees.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The walk is constant 20% grade uphill and as you gradually climb, the trees thin and give way to even more spectacular views of the surrounding peaks and bushland. The path is dotted with stunning endemic wildflowers and there are plenty of perfect spots to stop for a snack and admire the view

After 2km, the track switches to the left and brings you out on top of the bluff which is when things get spicy. You’re now exposed to the biting southerly winds so get ready to pile on the layers for the last ditch effort to the peak. The lady at the caravan park told us there’s sometimes a difference of 20 degrees between the top and the bottom of this hike and it’s one of the only places in WA that gets regular snow!

Once you’re at the top, embrace that cold wind, breathe the salty air and relish the fact that you made it to the top of the Stirling Ranges! On a good clear day, you can see all the way to the coast. Soak it up for as long as your core temp allows before making your wobbly legged way back down the way you came.

If you’re tackling this one at sunrise in the hope of catching a glimpse of snow, be exceptionally careful. Bad weather can roll in with little warning, the path runs next to a sheer drop and the track can be very slippery. People have died on this trail so take the warnings seriously, be prepared and don’t continue if it looks like there’s a storm coming.