Hiking the Routeburn track in winter was another incredible hike we did while in New Zealand. While the Routeburn Trail is normally extremely popular and fairly crowded, not to mention kind of expensive in summer we only saw two other people the whole day that were on their way back because they didn’t have the right gear to continue past the Routeburn Falls hut, ice axe and crampons were needed when we were there to go further. I will say now that we were told we could not do the entire track due to weather conditions so we made the decision to go only as far as Lake Harris/ Conical Hill, which is still a 13km one-way hike.
One thing that really grabbed both of us about this hike was how much the landscape changes from the entry to the park until you reach the top of Conical Hill. You pass through the rainforest and over rivers, you walk alongside grassy fields while being completely surrounded by mountains shooting straight out of the ground until you eventually arrive at frozen waterfalls, snow and mountain peaks stretching as far as the eye can see.
You’re obviously looking for hikes so check out this list of some of the best hikes in New Zealand.
Safety on the Routeburn Track.
I’d like to cover this first, hiking any mountain in New Zealand in winter comes with a little bit of risk, due to the fact that basically everywhere is in close proximity to the ocean, it makes weather unpredictable and erratic. So you should always check with the DOC about current trail conditions and ask about any weather warnings before leaving on any mountain hike especially in winter.
When we spoke to the DOC in Queenstown they told us that they did not consider it safe to go past Harris Saddle Hut, but, they didn’t say we couldn’t so I guess depending on your level of experience with alpine environments I suppose this call kind of falls on you.
If you have little to none, I’d not recommend it. But if you’re from the French Alps or similar environment and are very familiar with avalanche dangers, cold weather, heavy erratic snowfall and have the right equipment then I would say go for it. But for us at the time we were most comfortable just heading to Harris Saddle Hut and Conical Hill, this is not due to the difficulty of the hike, the Routeburn track is actually an easy hike overall, this was because of the avalanche danger, of which we had no experience with.
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Getting to the Routeburn trail.
This is probably the most complicated and most expensive part of doing the hike in Winter as there are several options here ranging from free to $130NZD per person. We started the Routeburn trail hike from the Queenstown side which is the most common place to start from. You can arrange private transport to the start of the trail for about $120 to $130 dollars per person, which is not cheap and personally would be my last resort. You can also arrange for the same company to pick you up at the divide on a designated day should you decide to do the through hike.
If there are a couple of you wanting to do the hike(I wouldn’t suggest hiking alone in winter, just in case anything happens) I would suggest renting a car even if there are two of you it’s going to be a little cheaper to rent a car for 2 days than it is to take a private vehicle out there. This will not only give you more freedom to time the hike how you would like but if you rent a car with Avis in June and you’re over 25 it will cost about $240-250 for two days, so if there is 3 or 4 of you this is a far cheaper option than private transport. Avis was the only company I googled you may be able to get it far cheaper.
When we were hiking Mt Taranaki which you can read here Hiking Mt Taranaki in winter there was one other guy doing the hike on the same day and he had hitchhiked out to the Routeburn trail from Queenstown. He said it had been easy to get a far as Glenorchy but after that, it’s far more remote and you need to be lucky a little lucky in winter that someone will be going to do the hike that day. So this can be hit or miss.
We had rented a camper van for our trip in New Zealand so getting to the trailhead was straight forward not to mention the drive was beautiful, as you pass through Glenorchy, which is 100% worth stopping at on the way there or on the way home.
The drive from Queenstown is 71kms and is pretty straight forward all you do is get on the lake esplanade that runs alongside Lake Wakatipu, this is also the Glenorchy/Queenstown road, you pass through Glenorchy and after 8.1kms you will turn left onto Priory Rd. This turns into Glenorchy/Routeburn road and you just follow this all the way to the car park.
Hiking the Routeburn Track.
We did the hike in one day starting from the parking lot on the Queenstown side and finishing up at past Lake Harris, we started the ascent to Conical hill but the weather came in quite bad so we promptly turned around. This made it a 26km day, we started early and finished late, but we still had time to play around and enjoy our environment, but after seeing the Routeburn Falls hut we kind of wished we had made the decision to spend the night and enjoy the hike a little more, so if you have the time this is the itinerary I would suggest.
Hiking the Routeburn trail Day 1.
Routeburn Track parking lot to Routeburn Falls hut.
You basically start on a suspension bridge crossing the Routeburn River, the trail is a maintained trail and extremely well kept so following it will not be a problem. You will cross the river several more times and if you’re there in winter like we were it will more likely than not be this incredible scene you would 100% expect to see in Lord of the rings.
The Routeburn Flats Hut will be your first major landmark and it is a beautiful little hut with an absolutely incredible view but it’s only a short hike to get there, 6.5 kilometers and about 2 hours walking and as beautiful as it is I’d personally prefer to wake up in the Routeburn Falls Hut.
To get to the next hut is only another 2.7 kilometers anyway, this section is all uphill and although not strenuous will slow you down a little.
I cover this in the next section in more detail but you will need to pre-book a night in the hut before you go. All details are listed below this section.
Hiking the Routeburn Track Day 2.
Routeburn Falls Hut to Conical.
I would personally wake up and get going a little before the sun as the views a little further up from the hut are an incredibly spectacular spot for either sunrise or sunset. This is also the section where we needed ice axe and crampons, ice axe was not mandatory but a walking stick or anything else to help you balance a little will be very much welcomed. But I will warn even the steps to the hut were covered in ice and would have proved tricky without the handrails.
The hike to Conical Hill from the hut is 4.5kms with an elevation gain of 517 meters. So not incredibly long or steep but still a 9-kilometer return trip back to the Routeburn Falls Hut.
After the first 3.6 kms, you will arrive at Harris Saddle Shelter, here you can take a break maybe eat some breakfast or whatever but this is also where you have to turn right and head up to the Conical Hill lookout. From here it is only another 990 meters and an elevation gain of 264 meters. It should only really take about 30 to 40 minutes or so to arrive there from the Harris Saddle Shelter.
After this, you will have the entire rest of the day to make your way back to the parking lot on the Queenstown side and depending on the type of transport you have arranged you should have it waiting there. Unless you’re hitchhiking in which case I hope you met someone along the trail that offered you a lift back into town.
The reason we chose to go to Conical Hill was the fact we had read it was the best views of the entire track, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see them as the weather turned bad but hopefully, you have better luck with it!
Where to stay when hiking the Routeburn track.
Personally, I would pick the Routeburn Falls hut to stay in if I was splitting the hike into 2 days. In hiking season you need to book the hike in advance, the bookings are mandatory between October and the end of April, outside of this however bookings are not necessary, you will, however, have to book your night stay in the hut or if you decide to camp book for a night camping, but just stay in the hut, it’s cheap in winter. Outside of hiking season, it costs $15pp( all dollar amounts in NZD) to book a night in the hut. It is up and down what will be in the hut during winter, you might be lucky enough to get wood for a fire and be able to cook but you should not rely on this and you should take a small gas cooker with you or pack food that does not need to be cooked.
In hiking season prices for the huts are $130 per person per night for foreigners and $65 per person for NZ residents. Camping is $40 for foreigners and $20 for residents.
All booking can be made through the DOC booking website which is linked here.
Where to stay in Queenstown .
Queenstown is basically the most popular town in New Zealand and for good reason! There are about a million things to do in the area including hiking The Routeburn Trail, you can also read about hiking Ben Lomond in winter here, which is a hike that you can get to the trailhead by walking from the center of town.
Here are a few suggestions for places to stay in Queenstown.
Sir Cedrics Tahuna Pod Hostel was a pretty amazing hostel. One thing for me is the fact that Sara and I travel as a couple and often we are on a budget so most of the time the only option for sleeping in the same bed is if we get a private room however Tahuna Pod Hostel offers dorms with double beds and still a maximum amount of privacy because everyone sleeps in their own pod. Dorms start at $28 USD
Adventure Queenstown Hostel is located in the center of Queenstown and is by far the highest rated hostel in the area. Dorms and private rooms are pretty standard but the common areas and vibe of the whole place is incredible so if you’re looking for a super fun time off the mountain also this might be for you. Dorms start at $23 USD
So maybe you decided this was not for you in the Winter months, it was an incredible experience but it may not be for everyone, that’s fine there are a million other things to do. One thing I highly recommend is a Milford Sound Cruise which you can read about here by clicking the link.
Where to stay in Glenorchy
Glenorchy is a fair bit closer to the start of the Routeburn track than Queenstown, on top of that it is an incredibly beautiful small town with amazing views and some super nice things to see and do so this might be an option for you either before, just to cut some travel time or after, to take a nice hot shower and relax somewhere nice. Here are a few suggestions for places to stay.
EcoScapes is located just 2kms out of the city center and while a tiny bit pricy you stay in these amazing little cabins right on the edge of the lake with large glass windows overlooking these incredible mountains that just dominate the entire landscape around you.
Glenorchy Peaks B&B while we didn’t actually stay here it is the highest rated accommodation in Glenorchy on booking which generally speaks for itself. It is located 5kms out of town so if you’re looking for something in the center then this is not for you but if you don’t mind then you probably wont be disappointed as it sits in one of the most beautiful locations just outside town.
What to pack for the Hiking Routeburn Track.
- You are going to want thermals top and bottom and warm socks!(These socks are merino and have a lifetime warranty.. win-win) This seems like common sense but I am from Byron Bay, Australia and when I first started getting into colder climates none of this was common sense to me haha. I had no idea what thermals were.
- Hiking boots or good hiking shoes slipping along with cold feet and toes are the banes of enjoyment when it comes to winter hiking good boots will help reduce this.
- A good jacket, personally I wore two. I had a small down jacket on like the one in the link with a Goretex shell over the top because the wind can get brutal!
- Water and snacks are an obvious must. I would say 1 to 2 litres of water in winter will be enough. I took 1 litre and was perfectly happy with that. Summer may be a very different issue though and I would plan for 2 litres.
- Hiking poles are good to have if you have any issues with slipping or if you just want to save your knees a little bit of stress on the way down. I did not use these but saw people that were.
- Gloves and beanie are also very necessary items!!!
- Ice axe and crampons are something I would 100% have with me. There are links here if you want your own, which are very beneficial if you’re doing multiple winter hikes in NZ. But you should also be able to rent them from your hostel or any ski or snowboard shop in Queenstown.
- I would also suggest a small gas cooker that’s light but cooks quickly.
Tips on how to hike sustainably.
So this is something I think about every time I go anywhere and it ranges from things as simple as buying a banana and making a sandwich instead of buying plastic wrapped products to buying clothing from companies that support sustainable business practices.
Here are a few little tips to help you hike more sustainably.
If you travel and hike often one of the things I would suggest investing in is a Water bladder. Osprey makes a nice series of them that range from 1.5 liters to 3 liters. I use one of these every hike unless it is below negative 5 then the water tends to freeze. The benefit for me is that as you drink the packaging gets smaller and you end up with more room in your pack for a jacket or something else you might take off later and you never actually have to take your bag off to get a drink, just hang the straw over your shoulder and drink as you see fit.
A reusable water bottle is also something that will cut a crazy amount of plastic waste out of your life. Hydro Flask is one super popular company and they make a massive range of sizes and shapes.
Food, food is almost always wrapped in plastic when you buy it but this has been a surprisingly easy one to get around. It may be a little harder if you are backpacking but we’re traveling in our van so we have a small kitchen. We have started to make everything and package it in reusable containers that we just take on the next hike. Sara has been perfecting making these protein balls that are a mix of oats, peanut butter, cranberries, almonds and whatever else we have lying around. Also fruit! But if you buy fruit do not throw the peel along the track. These things can take forever to break down especially if they are not regional fruits and no one really wants to see someone’s old orange or banana peel lying around on the track.
Clothing is something that is often overlooked as a sustainable product as you just kind of wear things till they are old and then throw them away but there is a range of companies out there these days that are making amazing products built to last. Patagonia is one company I can not push enough. They support so many environmental campaigns, they have a lifetime warranty on everything they sell and they give one percent of all sales back to small grassroots charities. They will also repair any clothes you take into them with minor issues.
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