Where

Mount Imlay National Park in South Coast

Distance

6km return

Time suggested

2 - 4hrs

Grade

Grade 5

Trip Intention Form

It's a good idea to let someone know where you're going. Fill in a trip intention form to send important details about your trip to your emergency contact.

What to
bring

Hat, sunscreen

Please note

• Please clean your boots using the hygiene cleaning stations along Mount Imlay Summit walking track.
• The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.

Starting at Burrawang picnic area, this challenging walk takes you through dry eucalypt forests and grassy woodlands to the summit of Mount Imlay. The track climbs steeply, rising 600m, but there’s plenty to distract you from the effort along the way.

In spring, stop to admire the delicate beauty and bright colours of wildflowers like mountain speedwell. Once you reach the summit, enjoy a rest and take in the views to the coast while you enjoy your picnic lunch. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Mallacoota in Victoria, and Narooma to the north.

It’s also a great spot for birdwatching. Watch for yellow-tailed black cockatoos flying overhead and listen closely for lyrebirds as you’re walking up the mountain.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Aboriginal cultural heritage

Mount Imlay is known to local Aboriginal people as 'Balawan', and is a place of great spiritual significance. The mountain, surrounding gullies, forest and animals that make their home here are important to local Aboriginal culture and spiritual teachings.

Band of brothers

Mount Imlay is named after the three Imlay brothers, who played an important part in opening the Eden-Monaro district to European settlement in the 1830s and 40s. Alexander, Peter and George Imlay arrived in Australia from Scotland in 1829, 1830 and 1833 respectively. Within a few years, they had established whaling, pastoral and trading enterprises near Twofold Bay at Eden and on the Monaro plains.

Exquisite growth and hidden wildlife

Many of the animals that make Mount Imlay their home are nocturnal, like the eastern pygmy-possum. But during the day, you could see red-necked wallabies, swamp wallabies, wombats and bush rats. If you're really lucky, you might even spot threatened species like the long-nosed potoroo, koala or the tiger quoll. Mount Imlay is a fantastic place for birdwatching, and you'll find a variety of birds like honeyeaters, currawongs and tree-creepers. As you wander through the forest, keep your ears and eyes out for lyrebirds fossicking in the understorey. And with a bit of luck, you might spot threatened species like the olive whistler, sooty owl and glossy black cockatoo. Mount Imlay is a botanical treasure of the far south east, where you'll find a number of threatened or biogeographically significant plant species, including the extremely rare Mount Imlay mallee and endangered Mount Imlay boronia. The bushland here also supports many native wildflowers, which come to life in spring and colour the bushland with purple, pink, yellow, white and red flowers.