The Ben Lomond Saddle

The route

The route climbs the face of Bob’s Peak, the hill behind the town, then follows the ridge that rises from it towards Ben Lomond. The Tiki Trail starts beside the gondola building, behind the stone wall of the old cemetery, and climbs about 2 km to the gondola top. There the Ben Lomond Track takes over, through the last of the trees and out onto open slopes to the saddle, at 1,326 metres on DOC’s current track page; an older DOC map gives 1,317.

It is the same way down. The one choice is the gondola, which can carry you up past the forest on a return ticket. Riding it down after walking up needs a one-way ticket, which DOC says is sold but Skyline does not price online, so ask at the base before you set off.

Mountain bike trails cross the lower hillside, some of them downhill runs ridden at speed. The walking track is signed at each crossing. Keep to it, and do not follow a bike line down.

What the walking is like

The Tiki Trail is the hardest hour for its length. It rises in short, steep zigzags, rocky and rooty in places, with almost no view. The forest is dense and dark. Douglas fir, a tree brought from North America, closes over the path, and the ground is soft with needles. Rest stops carved from pine trunks stand beside the path, and zipliners pass overhead. You hear the town for a while, then mostly your own breathing.

At the top the forest ends at a crowd. The gondola complex has toilets, food and a view straight down onto Queenstown and across the lake to The Remarkables. This is the place to fill your bottles: there is no water beyond it.

Then the walk changes character. The track leaves the last of the trees at about 800 metres, and the hill opens out into tussock and low alpine shrubs. There is nothing now between you and the sky. The wind arrives, the air cools, and the sound of the town falls away. Below, the lake spreads out in its long bend, and the climb goes on, steady and in plain sight, up the slope towards the saddle.

The open slopes are where the weather counts. A warm morning in town says little about the wind and cloud above the bushline. Conditions change fast up here, and hypothermia is possible even in summer. In cloud, keep to the signed track and its orange markers, and ignore the animal paths that cross it.

At the saddle the ground drops away on the far side, and the view turns north, to ranges hidden from town. On a clear day the view reaches towards Mount Aspiring National Park. Behind you is the way you came: the slope, the trees, the town small beside the lake. The summit rises about 400 metres above.

Coming down asks as much as going up. The open slopes are easy to follow; the forest zigzags are steep and loose on tired legs, especially after rain. Walking poles help. Then Brecon Street, traffic and voices, all at once.

The stages

DOC publishes figures for the whole walk and for the shorter version from the gondola top, not for each stage. The table follows those figures; the stages are our way of breaking up one return walk.

Places on the way

Four places mark the walk: the top of the gondola, the open slopes, the saddle, and the summit you can leave for another day.

The gondola top on Bob’s Peak

The end of the forest and the walk’s practical pause: toilets, food, drink and the view over the town. It is also the start for walkers who ride up, and a possible way down for those who want to save their knees.

The open slopes

Above about 800 metres the trees end and the track climbs through tussock in full view of the lake. This is where to read the weather and your pace, while the gondola top is still close behind you.

Ben Lomond Saddle

The destination, at 1,326 metres, and the place for a long rest. The view opens north, and the summit track carries on above you. There is a basic toilet just before it, without paper or water.

The summit, for another day

Ben Lomond’s summit, at 1,748 metres, is about 400 metres higher, on steeper, rougher, unmaintained ground across private land. DOC allows 6 to 8 hours return from town. It is a separate and bigger day.

Planning the walk

When should I walk it?

Skyline gives October to April as the best time. DOC warns that snow and ice can lie above the bushline from April to November, and it names no date when the track is reliably clear. The two overlap in April, so in April above all, check the conditions on the day. Pick a settled forecast, check the mountain weather rather than the town’s, and keep a lower walk in reserve if the tops are in cloud.

Do I need to book anything?

No. There is no permit or booking for the walk, and walking from Brecon Street is free. The gondola is optional: on 8 November 2026 Skyline listed an adult return at NZ$69. DOC says a one-way ticket down can be bought, but Skyline’s published prices do not show one, so check at the gondola base before relying on it.

How fit do I need to be?

Fit enough for a long, sustained climb and a steep descent. DOC rates the Ben Lomond Track as an advanced track needing a high level of fitness; the saddle avoids the hardest part, near the summit, but it is still a serious day. Starting from the gondola top cuts the climb roughly in half.

What should I carry?

Can I walk it with children?

Older children who are used to long climbs can manage the saddle, especially from the gondola top. Judge them on the descent as much as the ascent. For younger children, the Tiki Trail up and back is a big enough outing, and the gondola and much of its top station take wheelchairs and pushchairs for the view without the walk.

Should I go on to the summit?

Only if you set out meaning to. The summit adds about 400 metres of steeper, rougher climbing across private land, and turns a five-hour walk into six to eight. Make that decision at the bottom, not at the saddle.

For somewhere to stay, see where to stay in Queenstown; for the town’s other walks, walks and hikes in Queenstown.

If the walk goes wrong

The weather turns. If cloud, strong wind, rain or cold builds on the open slopes, put on your layers and turn back while you can still see the markers. Do not cut down across animal tracks or bike trails; the signed track leads back to the gondola top and its shelter.

Injury or exhaustion. Stop somewhere safe, stay warm, and call 111 if you have a signal. Near the gondola top, staff and shelter are close, and the gondola may offer a way down in its opening hours, but do not build your plan on it.

Running out of daylight. The descent takes longer than people expect. Set a time to turn round before you start, and keep to it.