The Sunshine Bay Track is an awesome 4km out-and-back track with a few small undulations along the way, walking from Queenstown centre it turns into a ~7km return trail.
The track follows Lake Wakatipu through some native bush and has several great viewpoints with Sunshine Bay Beach at the turn around point.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Details & FAQS About The Sunshine Bay Track
2. Sunshine Bay Track Map
3. How To Get To The Sunshine Bay Track
4. My Sunshine Bay Track Experience
1. DETAILS & FAQS ABOUT THE SUNSHINE BAY TRACK
QUICK DETAILS:
- Distance: 4km return
- Elevation Gain: <100 metres
- Difficulty: Easy
- Download the GPX file here
How hard is the Sunshine Bay Track?
Easy. There are some undulations and a couple of short rocky sections, but nothing dramatic.
How far is the track?
It’s right around 2km each way.
What’s the elevation gain of the Sunshine Bay Track?
There’s less than 100 metres of elevation for the return journey. It’s a gently undulating track throughout.
How long does it take to walk the Sunshine Bay Track?
If you’re walking fast, you can do the return journey in under 1 hour. But give yourself 2-3 hours to take in the views, and spend some time at Sunshine Bay Beach.
If you want to see video of the Sunshine Bay Track, you can view this silent hiking video of me hiking the track:
SUNSHINE BAY TRACK FAQS
Are dogs allowed on the Sunshine Bay Track?
Yea, you can walk your dog on Sunshine Bay Track provided they remain on a leash.
Is the Sunshine Bay Track muddy?
If there’s been some recent rainfall the track will have a few sections that remain muddy for at least a few days, which I think is due to the lack of sun parts of the track gets.
It’s walkable year round, you’ll just need to watch where you step from time to time.
Can you bike on the Sunshine Bay Track?
Yeap, mountain bikers are welcome on the Sunshine Bay Track. There’s a couple of sections where you’ll need to get off your bike to walk.
Are regular shoes okay for the Sunshine Bay Track?
Yes, you can get away with most shoes on this track.
I did try and take one friend who was wearing heels and she said that’s not comfortable. I’d draw the line there 😀
What’s the best time to walk the Sunshine Bay Track?
In the summer, this track is suitable throughout the day. But in winter, I’d suggest going earlier in the day. Once the sun drops behind the mountain (mid-afternoon), the temperatures drop quick.
The track isn’t the best for walking back with fading light (even the light on your phone will help), so if you’re going to be a while, pop a head torch in your pack.
2. SUNSHINE BAY TRACK MAP
Unfortunately, only the start of the track (Queenstown end) and Sunshine Bay Beach is on Google Maps, not the entire route.
It’s not on maps.me either.
I’ve told a bunch of people where this track is and can report no one has been lost 🙂 You could always look it up on the topo map apps (I recommend this one), but you should be sweet.
3. HOW TO GET TO THE SUNSHINE BAY TRACK
You can walk to the Sunshine Bay Track from town, following Lake Wakatipu past the One Mile car park, and the trail next to the Queenstown to Glenorchy Scenic Road before you get to the start of the track.
Alternatively, you could drive to either end parking at the links in the section above. If you were to do this, parking at the Sunshine Bay Beach end makes more sense.
And it’s easy to hitchhike around Queenstown, and you could hitch out to Sunshine Bay Beach and walk back to town along the track.
RELATED READ: THINGS TO DO IN QUEENSTOWN
4. MY SUNSHINE BAY TRACK EXPERIENCE
I love running along the Sunshine Bay Track! From Queenstown the return trip to Sunshine Bay Beach is right on 8km.
But I’ll stick to thinking about what I see while walking the track 🙂
Starting from the town end Sunshine Bay Track takes you down a little hill before flattening out as you pass some kind of power station thingy. The trail quickly becomes single track which is how it’ll stay most of the time.
When you enter the bush, you’ve got a little incline, but nothing crazy big.
This leads to the most technical section of the track where for 5-10 metres or so, there’s a natural kind of stairway formed from rocks. It’s nothing crazy and you get the first of several views shortly afterward.
And it’s where you can find the path to the waterfall that’s mentioned on the sign at the start of the track, but is otherwise not signposted. This post will point you in the right direction. Although it’s certainly not easy to find and is a bit of a sketchy walk to the waterfall.
Continuing on, you’ll soon come across the first of two benches where you take in views towards Queenstown. And you’ve got the perfect view of the Remarkables.
After passing the two benches you’ll then drop back into the canopy of the native bush where you’ll hear the odd bird song.
It’s a nice little bit of bush and different to many of the other walks you’ll do in Queenstown which I like.
After 1.7km or so you’ll be back close to the water level of the lake and you can see the beach. If you want you could skip through the bush straight down to the beach, but you may as well finish the rest of the track.
And then you’ve made it to Sunshine Bay Beach 🙂
It’s a beautiful cove that’s a lot quieter than Queenstown Bay Beach.
The water is super clear here and people find it a nice place to go for a swim. you can even jump off the end of the jetty (check the depth and for any objects in the water).
The beach is a few hundred metres long so you’ll easily find a spot for yourself.
And when you’re ready, it’s time to wander on back towards Queenstown (or you can try and hitch back).
The Sunshine Bay walk is a beautiful track accessible from Queenstown.
I prefer it over the Frankton Track/Queenstown Gardens due to the variety.
If you do have any questions, drop a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com. Happy to help!
Chur,
Jub
p.s. Here’s a map of all the walks/hikes/tramps 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.