Coronet Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand

Coronet Peak, Queenstown Overview

Coronet Peak is the closest mountain to the town of Queenstown, New Zealand, being just a 20-minute drive away. The peak is ski-wonderland with stunning high points and excellent rolling trails luring skiers and riders to have the best ski experience. It is home to various terrains for skiing, from challenging ski tracks for experts and professionals to novice areas for beginners to learn. What sets Coronet Peak apart from all the other ski mountains is that it offers night skiing. This means that Coronet Peak provides some of the vastest numbers of hours open for skiing in New Zealand.

The Peak’s proximity to Queenstown, the view from the ski field across Lake Wakatipu, and the more petite nearby Lake Hayes are further contributors to the popularity of the mountain. It is one of the only ski fields in New Zealand that offers night skiing on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights from July to mid-September and stays open until 9:00 PM on these days. Early morning runs at 8:00 AM, and 9:00 AM offer a more private skiing experience before the crowds come in. The Coronet Peak Snowsports School offers a wide range of skiing and snowboarding lessons and programs for all ages and ability levels, including group lessons, first-timers, private lessons and a variety of one-day and two-day camps.

Things to Do

Skiing- From learning how to ski to experiencing challenging ski terrain, Coronet Peak has terrains catering to everyone’s ski needs. The Peak is a winter-wonderland with many exciting ski experiences such as night-skiing. After a long and tiring day of hitting the slopes, visitors can unwind by attending raucous ski-parties at the bars of Coronet Peak.

Paragliding- Coronet Peak is also a take-off site for paragliding. The mountain is popular for paragliding as it offers spectacular views across Lake Wakatipu and Lake Hayes.

Kids Fun Zone- For the tiny tots, Coronet Peak also offers a Kids Fun Zone where the kids can have some fun ski experience without getting in the way of experienced skiers.

Hot-Air Balloon- If the weather permits, visitors can go hot-air ballooning as they take in the sights of Coronet Peak and the surrounding mountains fromthe skies. However, being a very heavily-weather dependent activity, there are considerable chances of the activity not being conducted on any particular day.

Cafes- There are four cafes at Coronet Peak, which include a fully-licensed bar, café and restaurant in the Coronet Peak Base building. You can enjoy a hot sandwich from the substation, dine besides a warm and roaring fireplace at Heidi’s Hut, or head to the top of the mountain for some European-style food and mulled wine at the outdoor Ice Bar.

Tickets and Timings

Coronet Peak offers a variety of packages that cater to experienced skiiers and snowboarders and to the complete novice and everything in between.

Lift Pass- This gives visitors access to the mountain and the gondola that takes you to the summit of Coronet Peak for the whole day.

Adult - NZD 129
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 69
Senior Citizen - NZD 69
Student - NZD 95

Lift and Lesson Pass - This gives visitors access to the gondola and includes ski or snowboarding lessons, and includes recreational skis or snowboards.

Adult - NZD 244
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 184
Child (Below 5 years of age) - NZD 115
Senior Citizen - NZD 184

Lift and Rental Pass - Along with access to the gondola, the Lift and Rental Pass includes rentals of performance skis and snowboards as well.

Adult - NZD 179
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 109
Senior Citizen - NZD 119

Afternoon Pass - The Afternoon Pass gives visitors access to Coronet Peak from 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM.

Adult - NZD 95
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 49
Senior Citizen - NZD 49
Student - NZD 75

Night Ski Pass - The Night Ski Pass gives visitors a truly unique skiing experience and gives skiiers and snowboarders access to Coronet Peak from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Adult - NZD 65
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 45
Senior Citizen - NZD 45

Twilight Pass - This pass gives access to visitors from 12:30 PM all the way until 9:00 PM, and allows visitors to experience the sunset and the beauty of night-skiing.

Adult - NZD 129
Child (6-17 years of age) - NZD 69
Senior Citizen - NZD 69

How To Reach Coronet Peak

The nearest airport is the Queenstown Airport and is 24 km from Coronet Peak. Buses ply from Queenstown to Coronet peak, as do many cabs and taxi services. The journey from the airport to the peak takes about 30 minutes. Snowline Express runs buses from the Queenstown Snow Centre, the cost of the ticket is NZD 20 both sides. Snowline Hotel Pickups run a shuttle bus that will collect you from the designated accommodation in Queenstown and drop you back, and the fare costs NZD 30.