Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Canterbury → Lake Tekapo Peninsula Walkway

Location: Western Lake Tekapo, Canterbury, New Zealand

Time Required: 1.5 – 2 hours

Distance: 5.3 km/3.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 120 meters/400 feet (not including the side trip to the beach/base of the bluffs and back)

Red Tape/Notes: Closed mid-October to mid-December for lambing. There are two parking areas for this walk; the southern parking lot gives access via an extension track that joins up with the roughly triangular “loop” trail and will nearly double the distance due to the back and forth on the extension arm. The northern parking area starts at one corner of the triangular track.

What’s Nearby?: Ball Flats Hike, Tasman Glacier View Track, Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park, Lake Tekapo

This local gem features a nice footpath across open meadows, then runs along near the edge of the cliffs overlooking the lake, offering beautiful views of Lake Tekapo and the surrounding mountains in a short loop. At least, it does when it’s not snowing/sleeting. It’s still a nice outing, even without the hoped-for epic views and you can easily make your way down to the beach where you get a nice view of the cliffs you’ve been walking above. Next time we come out here we’ll be bringing our packrafts and heading out to the island that looks temptingly close. Assuming it’s not snowing, that is. If you’re here in the spring (mid-October to mid-December), please note this area is closed for lambing, so you shouldn’t hike this trail. If you’re interested in photographing lupines (which bloom in the spring), it’s still worth a drive out here since there are heaps of them around the parking area and along the roadside, particularly if you continue driving along Godley Peaks Road past the northern Peninsula Walkway parking area.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Canterbury → Lake Tekapo Peninsula Walkway