Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass
Download & Print Map and Notes5 hrs
431 m
Hard track
Covered in snow part of the year
(0km) End of Kosciuszko Road → Snowy River bridge
4.5 km
1 hr 27 mins
164m
-73m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the bridge, this walk follows the management trail west through the valley, where the trail soon bends right and passes a ‘Snowy River’ sign[12], coming to the bridge crossing the river[13].
(4.48km) Snowy River bridge → Seamans Hut
1.5 km
27 mins
95m
0m
Hard track
Seamans Hut
(5.99km) Seamans Hut → Rawson Pass
1.6 km
31 mins
114m
-15m
Hard track
Rawson Pass
(7.6km) Rawson Pass → Mt Kosciuszko
1.6 km
39 mins
127m
-23m
Hard track
Veer left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Mt Kosciuszko’ sign[28] uphill along the upper track. This track winds steadily up and around the peak of the mountain, passing a stone-paved[29] section of track, and also a metal grate[30] before climbing a few steps[31] to the cairn at the peak of Mt Kosciuszko[32]. At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Veer right.
Mt Kosciuszko
(7.6km) Rawson Pass → Lake Cootapatamba lookout
790 m
14 mins
6m
-16m
Hard track
Lake Cootapatamba lookout
(8.39km) Lake Cootapatamba lookout → Int of Kosciuszko path and lookout walkway
1.9 km
40 mins
45m
-94m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads south along the metal walkway, keeping Rams Head ridge line to your right. The walk follows the metal walkway past the ‘Endangered Mammals live between boulders’ sign[38] then across the upper reaches of the Snowy River. Here the walk heads up this hill to find a three-way intersection of metal paths, with the Kosciuszko lookout track (on your left).
(10.33km) Int of Kosciuszko path and lookout walkway → Kosciuszko lookout
50 m
1 mins
0m
-1m
Hard track
Kosciuszko lookout
(10.33km) Int of Kosciuszko path and lookout walkway → Top of Kosciuszko Express chairlift
1.8 km
40 mins
7m
-141m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the metal walkway south, downhill, soon passing a ‘Plant communities – keeping a low profile’ information sign[48] and a ‘Thredbo 1.0km’ badge[49][50] welded to the track. The walk continues to follow this track down the hill, then past the ‘Everything is connected’ information sign[51] and the large ‘Kosciuszko Walk’ sign[52]. At the bottom of the steps, this walk comes to an intersection (with a minor track on your left) just before a bridge at a lovely spot beside the creek.
Continue straight: From the end of the metal walkway[53], this walk crosses the creek using the metal bridge[54] and follows the paved path up and over the gentle rise[55], heading towards the ski lifts. Soon the path leads past a small alcove with two information signs[56]. Here the walk continues along the path a short distance to find a signposted intersection with the ‘Dead Horse Gap’ track[57] (on your right), where there is also an arrow pointing back to ‘Mt Kosciuszko Lookout’[58].
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows ‘Eagles Nest Restaurant’ sign[59] down along the paved path towards the chairlift building[60]. The path gently winds down the hill to find the top of the ‘Kosciuszko Express’ chairlift[61] and the Eagles Nest Restaurant[62].
Eagles Nest Restaurant
Kosciuszko Express Chairlift
(12.15km) Top of Kosciuszko Express chairlift → Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift
1.9 km
20 mins
1m
-558m
Very easy
Maps for the Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Perisher Valley | 1:25 000 Map Series | 85252S PERISHER VALLEY | NSW-85252S |
Chimneys Ridge | 1:25 000 Map Series | 85241N CHIMNEYS RIDGE | NSW-85241N |
Kosciuszko | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8525 KOSCIUSZKO | 8525 |
Jacobs River | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8524 JACOBS RIVER | 8524 |
Cross sectional view of the Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 12.2 km | ||
Time | 5 hrs | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Short steep hills (3/6) |
Quality of track | Clear and well formed track or trail (2/6) | ||
Signs | Clearly signposted (1/6) | ||
Experience Required | No experience required (1/6) | ||
Weather | Forecast, unforecast storms and severe weather may impact on navigation and safety (4/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Generally useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats) (1/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
6km of this walk is flat with no steps and another 5km has gentle hills with occasional steps. The remaining (2.2km) has short steep hills.
Quality of track
Around 12km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail, whilst the remaining 2.4km follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
This whole walk, 14km is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
This whole walk, 14km requires no previous bushwalking experience.
weather
12km of this walk is affected by forecast, unforecast storms and severe weather events that may impact on navigation and safety and another 1.9km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation). The remaining (350m) is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety.
Infrastructure
This whole walk, 14km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass walk starts at the End of Kosciuszko Road (gps: -36.431855, 148.32828)Your main transport option to End of Kosciuszko Road is by;
Car. A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.
(get details)
The Charlotte Pass to Thredbo via Rawson Pass ends at the Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift (gps: -36.503981, 148.30397)
Your main transport option to Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift is by;
Car. A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.
(get details)
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Snowy Mountains weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/cpttvrp
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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