7 of the best hikes in Mount Aspiring National Park
Discover the best walks, hikes, and other adventures in this stunning national park in the South Island.
Mount Aspiring National Park is located in the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand.
This park is one of the wildest, least developed, and most beautiful national parks in the country.
Mount Aspiring is famous for its glaciers, crystal clear blue rivers, deep valleys and glittering mountain peaks. The landscapes in this national park are well worth exploring.
Mount Aspiring is within easy driving distance of Wanaka, so it’s a great day trip destination for adventure lovers.
It’s possibly my favourite national park in New Zealand, and a place I return to again and again.
Why is Mount Aspiring National Park worth visiting?
Mount Aspiring National Park makes up part of UNESCO's Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area, a recognition of how precious this remote part of the world is.
It’s named after the lofty peak of Mount Aspiring, called Tiritea by Maori, one of New Zealand’s highest peaks.
In the mountains and valleys that ripple out from Mount Aspiring is a cornucopia of glaciers, sky blue rivers, and alpine lakes.
Mount Aspiring National Park is a top place to hike, with some of the most scenic hikes in the South Island.
From short walks like Rob Roy Glacier, to multi-day hikes like the Gillespie Pass Circuit, this national park has a trail for every type of hiker.
The best hikes in Mount Aspiring National Park
Most people head to Mount Aspiring National Park to hike.
With extensive hut to hut trails, you can get stuck into a week of hiking if you want. Or opt for day hikes to see the highlights of the park.
These are some of the best hikes in Mount Aspiring for all experience levels.
1) Hike to the Rob Roy Glacier
// One of New Zealand’s best half day hikes
// 10 kilometres return
// 4 hours
The Rob Roy glacier walk is one of the best half day walks in New Zealand.
You get to experience a river valley, beech forest, and finally a beautiful mountain amphitheatre with waterfalls cascading from cliff faces and a glacier pouring itself off a mountaintop.
The Rob Roy track starts from the Raspberry Creek Carpark. It takes 2 hours to drive to this carpark from Wanaka, along a narrow, unsealed road with multiple ford crossings.
If you’re driving a rental car, double check that you’re allowed to drive on this road.
If you’re driving a smaller vehicle, it can help to get out and walk through the fords first to check the depth. In summer, the water is usually very low and you won’t run into any issues, but it can be impassable after heavy rains at other times of the year.
Note: As of May 2023, the bridge to the Rob Roy Glacier track is closed and there’s no other access. The bridge is expected to open again in the summer of 2024 — keep an eye on the DOC page for most recent updates.
2) Walk one of New Zealand’s Great Walks: The Routeburn Track
// A Great Walk
// 33 kilometres
// 2-4 days, or sections as day walks
The Routeburn Track is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. It connects Mount Aspiring National Park with Fiordland, making it one of the most scenic walks in the country.
The Routeburn Shelter trailhead is about one hour and 15 minutes from Queenstown, via Glenorchy.
You can walk the first section of the track as a day walk.
The Routeburn Nature Walk is only 40 minutes, or you can go as far as the Routeburn Flats hut, which is about 2 hours. This will take you along gorges and swing bridges, past waterfalls and the actual Route Burn, which is a bright blue river.
Or walk the whole track and exit on Milford Sound Road near Te Anau — it takes a bit more organising, but it’s one of the best hikes in New Zealand.
If you start or finish the Routeburn in Glenorchy, check out my tips on where to stay and the best things to do in the area.
3) Marvel at the incredible colour of the Blue Pools
// 3 kilometres return
// 1 hour
The Blue Pools walk is one of the easiest ways to experience some of Mount Aspiring National Park’s magic.
The walk is flat and well maintained, taking only 30 minutes one way. The pools themselves are blue beyond belief — if you’re brave enough, you can even take a dip in the glacial waters.
To get to the Blue Pools, it’s a one hour drive from Wanaka or two hours from Queenstown.
4) Brave the hair-raising hike to Cascade Saddle
// A challenging multi-day hike
// 3 days
// 30 kilometres
Cascade Saddle is a notoriously dangerous hike, but for careful hikers the reward of this trail is great.
You’ll get unparalleled views of the Matukituki Valley, as well as the Dart Glacier when you reach the saddle.
Starting from Raspberry Flat carpark, you can hike in to Mount Aspiring hut, a well-equipped hut in the valley. From there, the Cascade Saddle route goes pretty much straight up the side of the mountain.
You need a clear day, because it’s sheer rock in places and can be dangerously slippery.
I stayed the night in Mount Aspiring Hut and hiked up to the saddle and back in a day, then stayed a second night in Mount Aspiring Hut.
I initially planned to walk all the way out to the carpark, making it a two day trip, but the hike up to the saddle and back took me a good nine hours.
It’s worth taking your time on this walk, both for safety reasons and to enjoy the epic views.
My tip: Mount Aspiring Hut makes a great base for day walks in Mount Aspiring. From here you can climb to Cascade Saddle, visit French Ridge Hut, and walk up to Liverpool Hut (I did both of those huts in one day).
Mount Aspiring hut is very comfortable and even has flushing toilets, so it’s not a bad base for exploring the park.
5) Hike to Liverpool Hut to see sunrise reflected onto Mount Aspiring
Liverpool Hut is one of the most iconic locations in Mount Aspiring National Park, thanks to the view of Mount Aspiring itself directly across the valley.
Spending a night in Liverpool Hut is an experience in itself — it’s the quintessential small alpine hut — but the really magical thing is waking up on the ridge to watch sunrise across the valley.
The hike up to Liverpool hut can steep and challenging if you’re not used to New Zealand’s trails.
You’ll be hauling yourself up by tree roots and scrambling up banks, but it’s worth it for the view.
6) Climb to extraordinary alpine views at French Ridge Hut
On the opposite side of the Matukituki Valley is French Ridge Hut. On the climb up to French Ridge, you can look across and see the red spot that is Liverpool Hut.
French Ridge is higher, so a slightly longer climb, and the trail is very adventurous.
It climbs about one vertical kilometre in only three kilometres of trail. Which means you’re going straight up.
It’s a clambering, physical, tiring hike, but it’s a special spot to see more of Mount Aspiring National Park. While you can’t see the Aspiring peak, you’ll have epic views across the ranges.
French Ridge hut is a stunning alpine hut at 1480 metres. From up here, you’ll have epic sunrises and sunsets, plus get to enjoy a very scenic toilet. The hike up is difficult, but worth the mud and swearing.
7) Hike up to the picturesque Brewster Hut and glacier
You can hike up to Brewster Hut and back out in a day, but for an alpine experience the small red hut is a great spot to spend the night. From the alpine tops you have epic views of the surrounding mountains.
How easy is it to get to Mount Aspiring National Park?
You can get into Mount Aspiring National Park from multiple angles. Most likely, you’ll start from Queenstown or Wanaka.
Here’s how to get into the park from each of these hubs.
Queenstown to Mount Aspiring National Park
The most popular destination in Mount Aspiring National Park from Queenstown is the Routeburn Track, which starts just beyond Glenorchy.
If you’re going for a day walk, you’ll be able to drive from Queenstown to the Routeburn Shelter (the trail head) in about one hour and 15 minutes.
If you’re walking the whole Routeburn, or don’t have your own transport, you can arrange to be picked up or dropped off through by shuttles from Queenstown.
Wanaka to Mount Aspiring National Park
To get from Wanaka to Mount Aspiring National Park, you’ll either be heading to Makarora, for the Blue Pools and Gillespie Pass walks, or to the Raspberry Creek Carpark in the West Matukituki Valley.
Raspberry Flat is where the Rob Roy Glacier walk starts from. It’s also the starting point for other hikes such as Cascade Saddle, Liverpool Hut, and French Ridge Hut.
If you have your own car, you can drive to the Blue Pools in about one hour - the start of the trail is 72 kilometres from Wanaka. There is a recently upgraded carpark at the Blue Pools Trailhead with lots of parking.
Raspberry Creek Carpark is about two hours from Wanaka.
The road is gravel for a lot of the way, and is crossed by multiple fords. After a lot of heavy rain, the fords might be impassable. I’ve driven this road several times in rental vehicles (small mazdas) and not had any issues.
Just drive slowly, and if you’re not sure you can walk through the water first, or turn around.
The Raspberry Creek Carpark itself is nice and spacious, with great toilet facilities.
Image credit - Bri Woolnough
When to visit Mount Aspiring National Park
Some walks, like the Blue Pools, are accessible all year round.
Most of the hikes in Mount Aspiring National Park are at higher elevations, so the best hiking season is from November to March, in summer and early autumn.
In the winter and spring (June-November) there is a risk of avalanches on the Rob Roy Track, Cascade Saddle Route and Pearl Flat.
Other tracks, like Gillespie Pass, might be a lot riskier due to higher river levels and bad weather.
Safety tips
Always check the weather, every single time.
Be very careful with river crossings, especially around Makarora. People have died crossing rivers to the Brewster and Gillespie Pass tracks.
There is no mobile reception in most of the park. Always tell someone your plans and check in when you get back into reception again.
The DOC visitor centre for Mount Aspiring National Park is in Wanaka. You can always stop by to ask for advice, weather updates, and road conditions out to Raspberry Flat.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found some new hiking trails to try in Mount Aspiring National Park — it’s well worth the visit.
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