WALKING THE LAKE SYLVAN TRACK

The Lake Sylvan Track is an easy 6.3ish kilometre walk.

Following an easy track that takes you to a lookout over Lake Sylvan, this is a great way to be introduced to Mount Aspiring National Park, with the added perk of a campground being right next to the trailhead.

Anyhow, this post will give you all you need to know about the Lake Sylvan Track. Let’s get into it.

p.s. do take a quick look at the map below so you understand what the track means when they refer to a loop track.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Lake Sylvan Track Details & FAQ
2. Lake Sylvan Track Map
3. How To Get There
4. My Lake Sylvan Track Experience

LAKE SYLVAN TRACK DETAILS ABOUT FAQ

How hard is the Lake Sylvan walk?

It’s an easy track with very minimal elevation change, and the trail isn’t technical at all. As long as you’re okay with walking 6km or so, you’ll be fine.

How far is the Lake Sylvan Track?

From the start of the bridge return, via the loop following the old tramway is about 6.3km.

If you go to the Lake Sylvan Lookout and return the same way (instead of doing the loop), it’s about 4.2km total.

Is there any elevation gain on the track?

There’s less than 50 metres of elevation gain, it’s essentially a flat track as you can see from the elevation profile:

How long does the loop track take?

The DOC website states 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete the loop. That sounds about right for most people. For those who are faster walkers and don’t worry about stopping much, you could be done in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

For those who like to take their time etc, you could be closer to two hours.

If you’re short on time, you can walk to the Lake Sylvan lookout and back, without bothering to complete the fuller loop. This will save you about 2km of walking distance.

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LAKE SYLVAN TRACK MAP

The map above is the GPX file overlaid on a topo map. The track is easy to follow, so there’s no real need to get a Topo map as it’s on both Googe Maps and Maps.me.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Lake Sylvan Track is accessed from the Lake Sylvan car park/campground. The easiest way to get there is to drive, which is about 25 minutes/22km from Glenorchy and 75 minutes/70km from Queenstown.

You can hitchhike there, or you could look into getting a drop off with Track & Info, which would be great if you were planning to camp there for a couple of days and/or continue on the Sugarloaf Pass Track which is a big day hike (or camp on the pass).

MY LAKE SYLVAN TRACK EXPERIENCE

Having completed the Sugarloaf Pass circuit a few weeks earlier, I was intrigued to see what the rest of the Lake Sylvan Track had to offer. Mostly the section along the old tram way, would there be remnants remaining?

Anyhow, crossing the bridge over the river is a stunning start to the hike. You then are straight onto a track that fits at least two people comfortably side-by-side. The track weaves through a beautiful red beech forest…to me it feels like a mini redwood walk!

Any how, things keep fairly consistent for the first 2km on the way to the lake (we stick to the left at the turn off). When you get to the lookout it’s pretty awesome. If you have clear views, you’ll see Mount Earnslaw which is fun.

A couple of friends have swam in the lake, it’s not the best for swimming they say.

Back onto the loop the track narrows for the next part as you follow the lake around through a narrow stretch of trees which is beautiful. Pop out from the trees for ore lake views if you want!

You’ll then see the signs going left to the challenging Sugarloaf Pass, but we stick to the main trail on the Lake Sylvan walk.

The back part of the loop is slightly more worn, but that’s nitpicking. I was confused not to see any remnants of the tramway loop that was existing in the 1920’s but that’s okay.

The back part of the loop took longer than I expected, but eventually you’ll get back to the start of the track where you turn left and head back to the start of the track.

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The Lake Sylvan Track is a beautiful walk that has some nice views across Lake Sylvan and peaks in the distance. The beech forest is pretty awesome too, making it for an awesome run/walk near Glenorchy.

Whether you’ve stopped in here before or after part of the Routeburn, or have parked up at the campsite by the trailhead, you’ll have a great time here.

If you’ve got any questions, email jub@churnewzealand.com.