If you’re a bit of a tramping fiend, chances are you’ve lowkey got your eye on crossing off all of the New Zealand Great Walks. If you haven’t done the Routeburn yet, it should be high on your list.
It may be ranked intermediate to expert by the Department of Conservation (aka DOC) but at just 33km the Routeburn can be completed by most people in 2-4 days. The track showcases Aotearoa’s alpine beauty spectacularly. You’ll walk through not one but two of New Zealand’s national parks—Mount Aspiring and Fiordland—marvelling at gigantic valleys, waterfalls and snow-capped mountain peaks along the way.
Sounds dreamy, right? Like all the Great Walks, tickets sell out almost as quickly as they’re released. Routeburn bookings for the 2025/2026 season open on 22 May 2025. Ninja skills at the ready.
Never miss a new opening or upcoming event in Aotearoa again—get us in your inbox here.
Getting To The Routeburn
In almost all instances, Great Walks demand a bit of mahi before you make it to the track itself (think of it as a pre-test). Luckily though, the Routeburn is pretty easy to get to requiring a mere click of a button to book track transport which can pick you up from Te Anau or Queenstown the morning of hike and drop you at whichever end of the hike you’ve planned to start from. There are a bunch of businesses that offer this service, one of which is Tracknet which clocked in at $153 per adult and $115 per child at the time of writing.
What To Expect On The Routeburn
Image credit: Alice Rich | taken on the GoPro Hero 12 Black
The Routeburn is an end-to-end track which means you can choose to start at The Divide (the West side) or the Routeburn Shelter (the East side). We went West to East, and we reckon that’s a vibe. If you choose to follow suit, you’re in for a treat on day 1 with a lovely long 4-5.5 hour hill climb (can you tell a Personal Trainer wrote this?) to Lake Mackenzie Hut. It’ll come at no surprise that Lake Mackenzie Hut does, in fact, have a lake beside it so if you’re trekking in the summer months you’ll probably want to don your togs and cool off. And if it’s colder out you might like to jump in the lake anyway, ice bath style.
The next day, we’d recommend rising early (a good strategy for any Great Walk). Depending on where you’ve decided to camp next—we hit the Routeburn Flats Hut—you’ll have a 6-7.5 hour day ahead of you that begins with a gentle climb through fairy glade-esque surrounds. This gentle climb then cranks considerably as you follow the path up the side of a cliff (leg day, who?) before eventually summiting to magnificent views. You’ll probably wish you had a GoPro so do yourself a solid so grab one now and thank us later.
Image credit: Alice Rich | taken on the GoPro Hero 12 Black
You might stop for lunch at the Lake Mackenzie shelter and, if you’re feeling all beast-mode-activated (or you’ll go the extra mile for the ‘Gram), you might want to tackle the winding staircase known as Conical Hill. From there you’re in national park number 2 and it’s immediately breathtaking. The rest of the track is mostly downhill with campsite and hut stops along the way. The final day is the shortest of the lot and, comparatively, isn’t especially challenging. Just don’t get complacent and miss your track transfer back. We saw a couple who this had happened to and let’s just say it was clear they weren’t still in their honeymoon phase.
A word for the wise: Pending the weather gods feeling exceptionally kind, expect to get wet while hiking the Routeburn—the two national parks it straddles are among some of the wettest in the country and see some 7-8 metres of rainfall every year. Needless to say, a solid raincoat is the minimum, along with a quick-drying change of clothes and rain pants.
Where To Stay After The Routeburn
Image credit: QT Queenstown | supplied
You might have to scarper back to the airport straight from the track and that’s all well and good but, if you’ve got a day to spare, we recommend leaning into a luxe recovery session. Like, for science (and also because you deserve it).
While there are plenty of hotels and airbnbs to choose from in town, our go-to is QT Queenstown not least because their beds are the antithesis to sticky, sweaty, snorey bunkrooms and tent life. Yep, after pounding the pavement (and by that we mean scrambling over a mish-mash of rocks, marinating in your own sweat and cursing your past self for skipping leg day), stagger through the doorway of a QT King suite, throw off your backpack and slide into a king-sized bubble bath and you’ll instantly forget that for the past three days you’ve been powered almost solely on dehydrated egg.
Revived, you’ll make your way downstairs to QT’s bar, Reds, for a champagne flight (for hydration, of course) and then you might even find yourself in one of Queenstown’s best bars or restaurants. Whatever shenanigans you do or don’t get up to in the evening, you’ll be beyond stoked to be able to unleash yourself on QT’s stellar breakfast buffet the next morning. Eggs at the level of hydration nature intended? Three helpings, thanks.
You might also like:
- A Guide To Aotearoa's Great Walks
- 21 Stunning Walks To Take In Auckland At Least Once
- Get Kitted Out In NZ's Best Activewear Brands
Main image credit: Alice Rich | taken on the GoPro Hero 12 Black
Urban List editors independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. Urban List has affiliate partnerships, and if you purchase something through the links in this article, we will earn a commission from those partners. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.