Mount Maude is a little-known mountain close to Lake Hawea. Why isn’t it well known?
My take is that it’s not an official DOC track given it’s on private land. And most people are going to do hike Roys Peak as a priority.
So yes, the Mount Maude Track is on private land, but there is a defined track that takes you up to the top. From what I understand, the owners don’t mind people going up the trail to the summit of Mount Maude. For now. That could change.
If you find out that’s the case, do let me know in the comments or email jub@churnewzealand.com so I can update this post.
That said, as always, follow the leave no trace hiking principles as should do on any of the epic hikes around Lake Hawea.
Here’s a few of the questions you might want to know about hiking to the Mount Maude Summit.
Note: The total journey for us was about 8km to the car and back (My Strava)…this will vary from person to person based on how much exploring you do at the summit, and along the ridgeline.
Where is the Mount Maude trailhead?
If you’re driving, you easily miss the trailhead. It’s on the side of SH6 here on Google Maps. There’s no sign, but on my last visit there was a stake with an orange pipe around it close to the entry point.
Parking on the side of the road isn’t the best idea, instead I’d recommend parking 1km away at the Lake Lookout point.
How high is Mount Maude?
Mount Maude is 1315 metres (4300 feet) above sea level as per TopoMap.co.nz.
The total elevation gain for my journey up there was about 1025 metres. You’ll end up with around that much elevation, give or take, based on how much exploring around the ridgeline you do, etc.
Is there a trig or sign or something at the summit?
No, there’s no trig or sign, but there’s a waratah sticking out of the ground which you can see in the photo below. We couldn’t see it from a distance, but stumbled upon it at the somewhat obvious high point.
If the Mount Maude Track easy to follow?
Yes and no. Once you find the trailhead, you’ll go up a short hill for about 100 metres before you need to veer to the right. Once you find that turnoff, it’s an easy track to follow for the first section…there’s been some cairns placed in little sections where you could get lost.
Here’s a map of the route we went (the GPS file overlaid on a topo map, clicking on the image will open the file in a new window).
The key is too remember to have the ravine on your left on the way up, and on your right when coming back down.
Once you get above the tree line, the track disappears for the most part. You’ve just got to pick the best-looking line for you and keep going up.
You can explore the ridgeline for the epic views once you get to the top. As you can see from the map above, we didn’t take the exact route back down until we got back on the main track.
Some of what you see from the summit are the Hawea township and epic views of Lake Hawea, Lake Wanaka, and the Skyline above it. On the otherside of the lake, you can see where the Breast Hill Track takes you, and Grandview Mountain and much much more.
Do you have the Mount Maude Track GPX file?
Yup, you can download the file here.
Is Mount Maude hard and/or steep?
Hard. Anytime you’re walking a vertical kilometre it’s not going to be an easy hike (that’s over 1000 metres of elevation gain in less than 5km in distance).
Here’s the elevation profile:
It’s certainly not easy and given there’s a little bit of route finding, and the terrain can be tricky it’s not a hike for beginners.
And there you go, a short guide about the Mount Maude Track. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments box below or email jub@churnewzealand.com
To finish, here are a few more photos from my latest Mount Maude track adventure.
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.