The Ben Lomond hike
When in Queenstown, the Ben Lomond hike is a “must do”. Ben Lomond is known as one of the most beautiful tramps in New Zealand. I like that it is not very difficult, and it’s short. If you take an easy route, that is.
Queenstown
I couldn’t write about this hike without adding a few words about Queenstown. Even though we only spent one day there we immediately fell in love with the place. It’s small, but offers plenty of places to see, all sorts of entertainment, and great restaurants to dine in. It’s lively, but not crowded – a good balance for people like me who really like their personal space. Last, but not least, it is gorgeous! Tucked among picturesque mountains along the shores of the 80-kilometer-long lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is a hub for adventure during all seasons.
About the hike
There are two ways to get to the top – the easy path and the longer, more strenuous path.
The easy way is to take the Gondola saving you about a 450-meter elevation through a forest. From there, the rest of the hike takes about a couple of hours.
The longer, more strenuous path starts from Queenstown – either next to the Gondola base station or near Lomond Crescent. There are other points to start the hike from as well, but some seemed a bit tricky to find. There is more information and a map here. Whichever starting point you choose, there is a long, steep way to go before your path joins the trail from the top of the Gondola just after you exit the forest.
The track was almost deserted. We only met a couple of small groups of hikers heading up and down along the way. This made it a really nice hike compared to all the other crowded trails we walked.
The Gondola
As you can imagine, we picked the easy way. Not only because our feet were quite sore from the last few days, but also the weather was bad. It had been raining all night and, sadly, Ben Lomond was all covered in clouds. Regardless, we were equipped with windproof and waterproof jackets and trousers, and a solid determination to get at least to where the cloud cover started. So, we packed our bags, wrapped our blistered toes in bandages, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the Gondola.
As it is a famous attraction, I was expecting a long queue. Luckily, there was none, probably due to the weather.
It was a short ride to the top where the gorgeous view over Queenstown opened up. After taking a few pictures from the observation deck, we headed up the track in hopes to get to the top ahead of the rain.
To the saddle
After a short stroll through a pine forest the trees ended, and the beautiful scenery popped up. The lake and the mountains surrounding it were behind us now and we made frequent stops to turn around and enjoy the view. Ben Lomond was ahead of us all covered in thick clouds and it wasn’t looking like this would change. Other than the few other hikers on the way, we met plenty of goats casually nibbling the grass.
The trail to the saddle is a constant, gradual incline. It is not very steep so it’s easy to enjoy and there’s no need to make a lot of stops. We did, however, make plenty of stops as our feet and legs were in a bad shape.
To the clouds
Shortly before the saddle, we made a short break to assess the weather conditions and our own strength. Ben Lomond was still hidden among clouds and we knew we were not going to get to see anything from the top. Worse than that was that my buddy’s knees were hurting quite a bit. So, I did what any good travel companion would do under the circumstances. I ditched him, left my backpack, and headed towards the saddle as fast as I could.
I am glad I did that because once I got to the saddle, the breathtaking view of the mountains on the other side appeared in front of me. There’s a nice bench facing that way, though, sadly, I had no time to sit and enjoy the view.
The saddle is the steepest part of the hike. Without my backpack it was quite easy to traverse it, though, so at times I was literally running uphill. I met a couple of hikers going up and I asked them to take a few pictures of me. Let’s just say that these pictures turned out to look the way you’d expect when you ask a random stranger to take them – quite bad.
Once I got to the cloudy area, there was no point to continue – there was no view whatsoever. All I could see was thick gray mist.
The way down
At this point it was time to head back to my nearly frozen and wet buddy. So, I ran back doing my best not to trip and fall. By the time I got to him, it had stopped raining so we could now take as many pictures as we wanted and make detours for better angles.
Getting back to the Gondola took us less than half the time we needed to go up. We changed into dry clothes and took the relaxing ride back to Queenstown. It was time to move on to our next adventure.
Final note
The Ben Lomond hike is one I would definitely like to repeat, hopefully when the weather is better. If you enjoyed this article or if you are looking for inspiration to visit New Zealand, have a look at some of our other posts here.
Oh my goodness! How beautiful! Adding to my bucket list! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Melissa! I am happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Wow, absolutely beautiful pictures! This makes me want to visit New Zealand even more!
Thanks, Meg! I hope you do visit, New Zealand is truly amazing 🙂
Wow, these pictures are absolutely beautiful! Really makes me want to travel to new places!
Thanks, Lauren! I am happy this inspires you to travel 🙂
Oh my gosh the views are amazing. And you got me with easy hike….minus the rain and freezing sounds like a great place to visit.
Hi! It was easy AND picturesque! Well, easy because we took the lazy way up, but I have no regrets 😀
What incredible scenery! This looks like the perfect day hike. I am surrounded by trees here and we have the Niagara Escarpment, but nothing compared to these views. Amazing!
Hi Sarah, it sounds like you live in an amazing area 🙂
The clouds added an ethereal quality to your gorgeous photos! I’m glad you braved the rain!!
Thanks, Tiffany!
Incredible photos! New Zealand is super high up on my bucket list, and this hike is 100% something I’ll do when I can finally make the trip – especially since Queenstown will definitely be on the itinerary. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks, Erin! I hope you can make that trip soon. Queenstown is amazing and there is so much to do in the area in any season. There are also plenty of other amazing hikes around.
I have never heard of this hike before, but I would love to do it someday. I love those landscape views, they are amazing.
Hi Cristina, this is not a very famous hike and I have no idea why. The views were breathtaking!