In March 2025 I did my first ever overnight hike. The destination was Mount Kosciuszko, which might surprise people given it has a reputation as a day trip. Most people who come here are trying to summit and get back out the same day, and many ride bikes or ebikes to get as close to the base as possible before setting off on foot. It is efficient. It also means you miss most of what makes this place worth visiting.
We did things differently.
The group was me, Oscar, Adam and Joseph. We started at the carpark above Three Mile Dam and set off with full packs.
Day One
The first day was around 10 kilometres to our campsite, but we took our time. The Snowy River runs through this section of the park and the water is crystal clear and very cold. We stopped a few times to swim. It was worth every second.
There are no water tanks or taps on this route but there are numerous streams throughout the park. We carried three litres each and filled up whenever we got the chance. The longest stretch without a water source was on day two, probably around eight kilometres between streams. We filtered most of the time but the water looked and tasted clean and we did not always bother. Worth checking conditions before you go — in a dry period there may be fewer opportunities to fill up than we had.
Our first campsite was nestled in amongst a large cluster of boulders with views down to the stream that runs out of Blue Lake. At sunset the light across the valley was incredible and we were the only ones there.
Day Two
Early in the morning the clouds rolled in and the fog sat thick across everything. We reached the Blue Lake lookout and could barely see past the water. It had its own kind of magic to it. By around 10am the fog burned off and left us with clear views of the surrounding mountains and the valley we were navigating around. Worth the wait.
One thing I had not accounted for was the sun. This is an alpine area and we were getting into the cooler months, so a few of us had packed for cold weather. The sun was relentless. I ended up in my thermal with my t-shirt tied around my head to keep the sun off my face. It worked, sort of. I was just hotter than I needed to be and ended up a bit sunburnt. A proper sun shirt or face cover would have been a much better call.
The second campsite was another 12 kilometres or so, most of it easy going on the corrugated iron boardwalks and roadbase paths that run through this part of the park. We descended to the flat plain that sits roughly halfway between Kosciuszko and Mount Townsend, with views of both peaks and the wider Australian Alps stretching out around us. We set up camp and spent the evening bouldering on the rocks nearby.
In terms of views, it was the best campsite I have ever stayed at.
Day Three
About two kilometres from camp sits the start of the Kosciuszko summit trail. It is straightforward and well maintained. Up to this point we had seen almost nobody, just one solo overnighter and a small group doing a similar route to us. The summit was a different story. It was busy. There was even a primary school group up there.
Summiting Kosciuszko is a good feeling. It is the highest point in Australia and one of the Seven Summits, the highest peak on each continent. It might be the smallest of the seven but I'd like to think it puts you well on track for Everest.
From the summit we walked out to Charlotte's Pass where we had a pickup arranged, stopping along the way for a few more swims.
We went straight to the pub in Jindabyne and each had a Kosciuszko Pale Ale, which came with a free t-shirt, I don't think that's normal but we were stoked. That night we stayed at a campground on the Snowy River in one of the lower sections of the national park, a good way to come down from three days in the mountains.
Should You Do It?
Yes, and do it as an overnight. The summit on its own is fine but it is not the point. The Blue Lake, the boulder campsites, the Snowy River swims, the flat plain between the two peaks with no one else around. That is the trip.
If you want the full gear breakdown and a pack list from this exact hike, I wrote a separate post on that: Everything You Need for Your First Overnight Hike.
And if you are looking to buy or sell any of the gear for a trip like this, SummitSwap is a secondhand outdoor gear marketplace for Australians who actually use this stuff. A good way to get kitted out without paying full retail, and a good way to offload any unused gear to fund the next trip when you are done. Browse secondhand hiking gear on SummitSwap.