Winter in Queenstown: Beyond the Slopes, and What to Do Without Skis
Wanaka and Lake Hāwea are an hour and a quarter from Queenstown over the Crown Range. Here is the winter run, the stops worth making, and what the road asks of you.
A Winter Day Trip From Queenstown, Over the Crown Range
Some of the best winter days out from Queenstown are not on a mountain at all. Wanaka is about 70 kilometres away, an hour and a quarter over the Crown Range, and the road there is half the reason to go. Here is the run, what is worth stopping for, and what the road actually asks of you in winter. It is all easier with your own car, and Evolve Rentals delivers one to your accommodation in Queenstown.
How Long Is the Drive From Queenstown to Wanaka?
About an hour and a quarter, and roughly 70 kilometres, going over the Crown Range and down the Cardrona Valley. The other way round, on State Highway 6 through the Kawarau Gorge and Cromwell, is 112 kilometres and closer to an hour and forty. Most people go over and come back round, which turns a there and back trip into a loop and means you never drive the same road twice.
What Is the Crown Range Like in Winter?
It is sealed the whole way, and it climbs high enough to take snow, ice and wind on days when Queenstown itself is merely cold. On some mornings chains are required. None of that is a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to check the forecast and leave with time in hand. Snow Chains 101 covers when you need them and how to fit them, and Driving in New Zealand covers the wider conditions. State Highway 6 through Cromwell is the alternative route when the Crown Range is shut.
Where Is That Wanaka Tree and Can You Walk to It?
Yes, once you are in Wanaka. It stands in the shallows off the Roys Bay lakefront, a short walk from the town centre, and in winter it sits against snow on the mountains behind it. Early morning and late afternoon are when the light does the work. It costs nothing and takes ten minutes, which makes it the easiest stop of the day. Tag us @evolverentalsnz if you get a good one.
Where Can You Warm Up After a Cold Day?
The Secret Sauna runs wood fired barrel saunas at two places on this route, and either one will build a day around itself.
- Cardrona, on Waiorau Nordic Road, which the operator puts at 45 minutes from Queenstown Airport. The cold dip here is in custom pools fed by a mountain creek.
- Lake Hāwea, at 1208 Makarora Lake Hāwea Road, 20 minutes past Wanaka township and an hour and twenty from Queenstown Airport. The cold dip here is the lake.
Sessions run one to two hours, shared or private, and the shape of it is rounds in the sauna with a cold dip between them and a herbal tea at the end. Book the last session of the evening if you can. The light coming off the mountains at that hour is the part people talk about afterwards.
What Else Is Worth Stopping For on the Way?
The Cardrona Valley sits between the Crown Range summit and Wanaka, and the Cardrona Hotel has been standing in it since 1863. It opens at 8am and runs bar meals through the day, which makes it the natural halfway stop in either direction, and it is a few minutes from the Cardrona sauna. Best Dining Destinations in Queenstown Worth the Drive covers it properly, along with four other places worth getting in the car for.
Is It a Good Day Out With Children?
It can be, but it is a long stretch in the car for small people, so give them something at the far end. Puzzling World in Wanaka opens daily at 9am and is the obvious one. Winter Family Fun in Queenstown covers that and the closer options for the days when nobody fancies an hour and a quarter each way.
Why the Car Makes This Work
Every good part of this day happens at an hour somebody else's timetable will not give you. The sauna session worth booking is the last one of the evening. The tree is worth photographing at first light or last. The halfway stop only works if you can decide on it when you are already halfway. That is the shape of the day, and it needs a car you control.
In Queenstown we bring the car to you. Nobody else here does that, and it is the entire reason Evolve exists. The car is at your accommodation in the morning, so the day starts when you decide to leave rather than when you have found a desk and queued at it.
Book Your Car for the Wanaka Run
Pick your dates and we will bring it to you. Evolve Rentals.
FAQs
How long does it take to drive from Queenstown to Wanaka?
About an hour and a quarter over the Crown Range, roughly 70 kilometres. The State Highway 6 route through Cromwell is 112 kilometres and closer to an hour and forty.
Do you need chains to drive the Crown Range in winter?
On some mornings, yes. The road is sealed the whole way but it climbs high and takes snow and ice, so check the conditions before you leave Queenstown rather than after you have started up it.
Where are The Secret Sauna locations?
Cardrona, on Waiorau Nordic Road, and Lake Hāwea, at 1208 Makarora Lake Hāwea Road. The operator puts Cardrona at 45 minutes from Queenstown Airport and Lake Hāwea at an hour and twenty.
Can you see That Wanaka Tree without a car?
Once you are in Wanaka, yes. It is a short walk from the town centre along the Roys Bay lakefront. Getting to Wanaka from Queenstown is the part that needs the drive.