The 7.8km Mount Cooke Walk includes the summit of Mount Cooke, which is the highest (582m ASL) granite peak in the Darling Range. Mount Cooke was named after William Ernest Cooke, Western Australia’s first Government Astronomer, and since the last bushfire in January 2003, the native vegetation has regenerated and wildflowers are particularly spectacular and abundant in August-September. The walk starts at carpark-1 located near the southeast-end of the main ridge. From here the path climbs in the first kilometre to a height of about 230m above the surrounding plateau and then follows the main ridge for a further 3km before descending at the northwest-end of the ridge through the Mount Cook Campsite. A forest track is then taken along the western base of the ridge to either carpark-2 (7.8km in total) or back to carpark-1 (9.8km). The walk is moderate in difficulty, although some may find it hard due to the short (500m) initial climb and slippery rocks that are prevalent in winter and early spring.

This walk takes us to the highest point in the Darling Scarp, with great views and spectacular spring wildflowers. Granite outcrops provide a break in the tree cover to reveal the views. The walk is easy to moderate and we will walk it as a 6km circuit, bringing us back to the parked cars.

Almost 3.5 kms of the walk is on the well maintained Bibbulmun Track. While most of the trees have regenerated, a few burnt skeletons remain from the devastating January 2003 bushfires which also destroyed the Bibbulmun track hut.

In mid-winter conditions along the narrow summit ridge can be unpleasant and special care is needed in high winds and when rain or low clouds reduce visibility. The 240m climb up Mt Cooke along the Bibbulmun Track from the Campsite should otherwise not be too challenging for a reasonably fit walker.

http://www.walkgps.com/Mount%20Cooke%20Walk.htm