Having been over Lindis Pass between Queenstown (my home) and Christchurch several times, I finally made the time to stop and head up the Lindis Peak Track.
Note, the Lindis Peak Track does not start at Lindis Pass, but 30km south of the pass.
This post will give you all the details you need to know about hiking the Lindis Peak Track.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Lindis Peak Track Details
2. Lindis Peak Track Map
3. How To Get There
4. My Lindis Peak Track Experience
1. LINDIS PEAK TRACK DETAILS
QUICK DETAILS:
- Distance: ~11.5 to 12km return (out and back)
- Elevation Gain: ~850 metres
- Difficulty: Medium
- Download the GPX file here
How hard is the Lindis Peak Track?
Medium. It’s a rather easy track to follow and isn’t technical, it’s just the relentless uphill on the way to the peak that’s tough.
What distance is the Lindis Peak Track?
My watch recorded 11.5km for the return trip (same with my partner). DOC has it at 13km return, so maybe prepare for that but expect less.
What is the elevation gain of the Lindis Peak Track?
My watch tracked 845 metres which feels about right (my partners was 855 metres – close enough). As you can see on the elevation profile below, it’s essentially all on the trip to the summit.
Here’s the elevation profile:
How long does it take to hike to the Lindis Peak Summit?
This is going to vary a lot, DOC suggests 5 to 6 hours, but you should be quicker than that unless you’re really struggling on the uphill.
Plan for 3 to 4 hours in most cases. If you’re a strong uphill hiker, under 3 hours is doable.
The uphill will take a lot longer than the descent.
How high is the Lindis Peak summit?
Lindis Peak is 1,226 metres above sea level.
When is the Lindis Peak Track closed?
It is closed from October 10th to December 5th each year for lambing.
Is there water on the Lindis Peak Track?
No, there’s no water sources available on the trail. If you’re hiking this in the summer, bring plenty of water as you’ll be under the sun the entire time. And don’t forget sunscreen.
2. LINDIS PEAK TRACK MAP
You can click on the image below to open the map in a new window on topomap.co.nz.
The map above is the GPX file (download link above) overlaid on a topo map. You can see the track on Google Maps (pretty good reception on the trail) and on Maps.me.
You don’t 100% need a map for this hike, but a good topo map app is always handy.
3. HOW TO GET THERE
The best place for parking is here on Old Faithful Road, just off the highway. There’s not an official carpark, but there’s space for parking on the side of the road.
The easiest way to get to the Lindis Peak Track is by car. It is about 40 minutes/50 kilometres from Wanaka, and 55 minutes/64km south from Omarama.
It is also 25 minutes/30km south of Lindis Pass (don’t get the peak and pass confused).
You could hitchhike there, but I wouldn’t go out of the way hitchhiking to this track. Same with hiring a hiking shuttle, it’s not really worth it as it’d need to be a custom trip which gets pricey.
4. MY LINDIS PEAK TRACK EXPERIENCE
After a great time on the Canyon Creek Track, my partner and I decided to finally do the Lindis Peak Track.
This isn’t a popular track, but it’s right State Highway 8 (SH8) so the access is easy if you’re driving past anyway. After parking the car, a few cows came strolling right past us as we were getting ready. An interesting start!
The track starts off on the 4WD track (above), with signage making sure you go the right way. Then rather than going through the gate that’s likely closed, you take a right turn just before it…which leads up a steep grassy track. There is a track though, with orange marked poles making sure you stay on track.
It wasn’t long after this that we came across the first sheep of the day…I’m not sure if they’re usually so loud, but for much of the Lindis Peak Track we had baa’ing. It was quite funny. I actually took a 20 second clip of them which you can listen too below.
Note what you expected to listening to while reading a blog post I’m guessing.
Back on track, the track started sidling along a bit before getting onto a ridge that was a bit of a 4WD track. You start to get views pretty quick out over the Lindis Valley from the trail which is nice. The views reminded me of the North Island if anything.
The track is easy enough to follow most of the time, but I did check the topo map a couple of times to verify as there’s the occasional farm track that turns off another way. And yes, there’s a couple of stiles to hop over.
The trail is pretty much up all the way, with only brief respites of flat sections.
As we didn’t have the best weather for views, it fortunately wasn’t too hot meaning we were able to keep trucking along pretty well. But as we approached the summit, the cloud took over reducing our visibility.
The last section of the track is the most techincal as you approach the summit where it’s more a genuine hiking track than a farm track, but it’s good as gold.
The top looks cool with different rocks and a bit more substance in terrain. They also provide good picnic spots if you can find a comfy rock spot.
Unfortunately once at the top our summit views were just glimpses when the cloud opened up. It’d be awesome to see the proper 360 degree views on a nice day.
The way back down to the base is simply following the way you came up, which is usually pretty easy but double check if you feel like you’ve missed a turn somewhere!
Got any questions or comments about the Lindis Peak Track?
Leave a message below or email jub@churnewzealand.com.
Chur,
Jub
p.s. Here’s a map of all the hikes documented on Chur New Zealand. You can click the icon to see brief details, as well as a link to read more about the hike (like this post).
Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.