Scenic Winter Drives from Queenstown (No 4WD Needed)

You do not need a four wheel drive to see the best of Queenstown in winter. Every drive on this list is sealed the whole way, doable in a standard hatchback, and close enough to town to be a half day out rather than an expedition. And if you are doing it by car, Evolve Rentals brings one to wherever you are staying in Queenstown.

What you do need is a bit of daylight awareness and a look at the road before you go, because in July it is dark by about half past five and conditions change quickly. Here are four drives worth the time, what to stop for on each, and what is actually open once the season turns.

Do you need a 4WD for winter drives around Queenstown?

No, not for any of these. All four routes are sealed and regularly maintained, and a front wheel drive hatchback handles them fine in normal winter conditions.

Chains and four wheel drive become relevant when you drive up to the ski fields, which is a completely different kind of road. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables both sit at the top of steep alpine access roads where chains are often required in winter. Our guide to snow chains covers when you genuinely need them. None of the drives below go anywhere near that sort of road.

Queenstown to Glenorchy

About 45 minutes each way along the western shore of Lake Wakatipu, and probably the best known scenic drive in the country. It is sealed the whole way.

In winter it is genuinely spectacular. Snow on the tops, still water, and long stretches where you will not pass another car. The road is narrow and winding in places with some tight corners above the lake, and shaded sections can hold frost well into the morning, so it rewards a slower pace than the distance suggests. Allow more time than the map tells you, partly for the corners and mostly because you will keep stopping.

Worth stopping for: Bennetts Bluff Lookout, which is the classic view back down the lake, Bob's Cove for a short walk through the beech trees, and the wharf at Glenorchy itself.

If you want to make a full day of it rather than a drive, we have written a longer guide to Glenorchy in a day. And if you want something warm for the journey, our favourite takeaway coffee spots are all on the way out of town.

Queenstown to Arrowtown

About 20 minutes each way, out past Frankton and Lake Hayes. This is the easiest of the four and the best one if you only have an afternoon.

Arrowtown is a different place in winter. The autumn crowds are long gone, the streets are quiet, and the whole town takes on that cold clear light that makes the old miners' cottages look the part. Park up and walk it, because the town is small and everything worth seeing is within a few minutes of Buckingham Street.

Worth stopping for: the Lake Hayes lookout on the way in, the Arrowtown Bakery on Buckingham Street, and the restored Chinese settlement down by the river, which is free to walk through and takes about twenty minutes.

There is a lot more to Arrowtown than one afternoon, and we have covered it properly in our guide to Arrowtown.

Queenstown to Kelvin Heights

About 15 minutes each way, round through Frankton and out along the peninsula. This is the one most visitors never do, which is exactly why it is worth doing.

The road runs along the Frankton Arm and out onto the peninsula, and the reward is the view back across the water at Queenstown with The Remarkables behind it. In winter the light does the work for you, and late afternoon is the time to go. It is short enough to tack onto the end of a day rather than plan around.

Worth stopping for: the bays along the Frankton Arm, the golf course at the end of the peninsula where the view opens right up, and the Peninsula Trail if you fancy stretching your legs for half an hour.

Queenstown to Kingston

About 40 minutes each way down the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu on State Highway 6. The quietest of the four and the most overlooked.

The stretch known as the Devil's Staircase is the reason to go. The road climbs along the side of the lake with the water a long way below and the Hector Mountains opposite, and on a clear winter day it is as good as anything in the region. It is a state highway, so it is wider and better sealed than the Glenorchy road, and it is a straightforward drive.

One thing to know before you set off. The Kingston Flyer, the steam train the town is known for, does not run in winter. Public tours run on Sundays from October through to May, so if that is the reason you were driving down, save it for the warmer half of the year. The drive itself is the point in July, and the lake at the southern end is worth the trip on its own.

Worth stopping for: the Devil's Staircase lookouts on the way down, and the lakefront at Kingston itself. Take something to eat with you rather than counting on finding it open.

What should you check before you set off?

Road conditions first. The NZTA Journey Planner carries live closures, incidents and traffic cameras for state highways, which covers the Kingston drive. The roads to Glenorchy and out to Kelvin Heights are local roads rather than state highways, so the district council is the better source for those.

Then the light. Sunset in Queenstown in July is not long after five, so a 45 minute drive each way needs to start by about two if you want to see anything on the way back. Leaving late is the single most common way to turn a good drive into a dark one.

What to take

• Fuel. Fill up in Queenstown or Frankton, because there is very little between towns on any of these routes.
• Warm layers and proper shoes, because every good stop involves getting out of the car.
• Food and a hot drink, especially for Glenorchy and Kingston where options are limited in winter.
• Downloaded maps. Mobile coverage drops out in patches on both the Glenorchy and Kingston roads.
• Sunglasses. Low winter sun off snow and water is harder on the eyes than most people expect.

If this is your first time driving here, our guide to driving in New Zealand covers what actually catches visitors out, and it is rarely what they expect.

Where else can a car take you in winter?

These four are daytime drives, but the same car earns its keep after dark. Ayrburn's Winter Wonderland is twenty minutes out on the Arrowtown road and turns a cold evening into the best night of the trip. For the rest of the year, our top five views you can only reach by car is the warmer weather version of this list, though a couple of those are better left until the roads clear.

Getting the car sorted

We bring the car to you. Tell us where you are staying, one of our team meets you there and runs you through it, and you set off from your own door rather than a rental counter. No queue and nothing to organise on the day you arrive.

Our Toyota Aqua hybrids suit this kind of driving well. They are easy on fuel, which matters on the longer runs to Glenorchy and Kingston where there is nowhere to fill up in between, and they are small enough for the narrow bits without feeling underdone on the open road. If you are still weighing up whether to hire at all, we have written the honest version of that, including when the answer is no.

Winter is our busiest stretch and the fleet is finite, so if your dates are settled it pays to lock the car in early rather than leave it until you land. Book a car with Evolve Rentals.

FAQs

Do you need a 4WD to drive around Queenstown in winter?
Not for the main roads. The routes to Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Kelvin Heights and Kingston are all sealed and a standard front wheel drive car handles them in normal winter conditions. Four wheel drive and chains matter on the steep access roads up to the ski fields, which is a separate question.

Is the road to Glenorchy sealed?
Yes, sealed the whole way from Queenstown to Glenorchy. It is narrow and winding in places with tight corners above the lake, and shaded sections hold frost in the morning, so allow more time than the 45 minutes the map suggests.

Does the Kingston Flyer run in winter?
No. The Kingston Flyer is closed over winter, with public tours running on Sundays from October through to May. The drive down the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu is still worth doing in July, but plan the trip around the road rather than the train.

What is the easiest winter drive from Queenstown?
Arrowtown, at about 20 minutes each way on wide sealed roads, with somewhere warm to walk to at the end of it. Kelvin Heights is shorter still at around 15 minutes if you only have an hour spare.

How long do these drives take?
Roughly 15 minutes each way to Kelvin Heights, 20 to Arrowtown, 40 to Kingston and 45 to Glenorchy. Double those for the round trip and add an hour or two for stops, then work backwards from a July sunset just after five.