Stirling Range National Park

115,600ha.

Conical hills, jagged peaks, rock chimneys and saddles extend from east to west for a distance of 65km at heights of up to 1000 m, while the cultivated plain to the south lies at only 200m. There are twelve peaks above 750 m; the highest is Bluff Knoll (1073m).

On the slopes of the Stirling Range are eucalyptus forests, but the park is best known for the variety and color of its flowering shrubs and heath vegetation. There are over 1000 species of plants in the Stirling Range, 60 of them endemic; particularly notable is the darwinia (mountain bells). The fauna also covers a wide range, from giant kangaroos to honey opossums. The winter is cold and rainy; the hills of the Stirling Range are the only ones in Western Australia that sometimes have snow.

The Stirling Range National Park is a walker's paradise. Some of the hills have paths leading up from the parking lot to the summit; the ascents are steep, but rewarded by magnificent views. On long and cross-country walks you must be prepared for sudden falls in temperature; and before setting out you should enter details in logbooks held at the Bluff Knoll picnic area and the Moingup Springs campsite.

The finest walking trails are Bluff Knoll (3 hours), Toolbrunup Peak (3 hours), Mount Trio (2 hours), Mount Hassell (2 hours) and Mondurup Peak (2 hours).

The Chester Pass Road, which runs from north to south through the park, and the road from the park entrance to the foot of Bluff Knoll are asphalted. Numerous tracks and walking trails branch off the Chester Pass Road. The Stirling Range Drive (an unsurfaced track) runs through the park from Red Gum Pass in the west to the Chester Pass Road.