Destination

The Arthur’s Pass National Park has walks suitable for all ages and levels of fitness and experience. From short 30-minute return walks to 4-6 hrs adventures there’s something for everyone to enjoy. There are even tracks suitable for parents with young children, prams and buggies!

Bealey Spur Track (five hours return)

The Bealey Spur Track starts not far from the Bealey Hotel and is a gentle climb suitable for reasonably fit people. The 6kms track takes 2 hrs and 30 minutes to walk one way and has stunning views of the Waimakariri River valley and surrounding peaks.

O’ Malley’s Track (1 hour & 30 minutes return)

O’Malley’s Track begins at the car park by the sharp bend before the bridge over the Waimakariri River, about 4kms north of the Bealey Hotel. The Track meanders through beech forest on the slopes above the Waimakariri River. After 45 minutes of walking the track descends onto Turkey Flat, a large open expanse on the riverbed where there are wonderful views up the valley to the snow-covered peaks of the Southern Alps.

Devil’s Punchbowl (1-hour return)

A popular walk in Arthur’s Pass village is to the Devils Punchbowl Waterfall. Though this sensational 131-metre waterfall is visible from the road, there’s nothing to match the experience of viewing it from the base of the waterfall. It’s just one hour’s return walk on a track that includes two footbridges and a climb up over 200 steps through beech forest to a viewing area below the falls.

Mt Rolleston

For more adventurous mountaineers, Mt Rolleston at 2275 metres high is the most accessible peak within the National Park and can be climbed in a single day from Arthur’s Pass village. Several companies offer guided tours, walks and tramps in the National Park. For more information about walking and tramping visit the Department of Conservation website doc.govt.nz, and softrock.co.nz for mountain conditions.

There are many rare and endangered native birds to be seen in Bealey and the Arthur’s Pass National Park. A number nest in the braided river bed of the Waimakariri River not far from the Bealey Hotel. These include the Wrybill, the only bird in the world with a bent beak, that nests below the Bealey Bridge by SH73 from September to November. Both upstream and downstream of the Bealey Bridge birds that can be seen feeding and nesting include the banded dotterel (turiwhatu), black-backed gull (karoro), oystercatcher (torea) and black-fronted tern (tara). Other birds regularly seen include Fantails (piwakawaka) that are friendly and unafraid to fly close to people, dark green bellbirds (korimako) and grey warblers (riroriro), which are more often heard before they’re seen, tomtits (miromiro) and the tiny rifleman (tititipounamu) New Zealand’s smallest bird. The New Zealand Falcon (karearea) and kea can be seen throughout the park, with occasional sightings of the kaka. For more information on birds and other fauna in the National Park visit the Department of Conservation website doc.govt.nz.

With a great selection of rivers and lakes within a short drive Bealey is the perfect location to indulge in a variety of water sports including kayaying, canoeing, sailing and power boating. The Waimakariri River is suitable for kayaking, with no powered craft allowed upstream of the Bealey Bridge at Klondyke Corner. Lake Pearson is also a great place for kayaking and canoeing with powered boats prohibited. People with power craft should head to Lake Lyndon which is ideal for water skiing. For more information visit the Department of Conservation website doc.govt.nz.

Fishers should visit fishandgame.org.nz to check out the regulations and required licences before heading out to enjoy fishing in one of the many rivers and lakes around Bealey. Lake Pearson by SH73 is a great place to try fly or spin fishing for salmon and trout. Or try fly fishing for trout in Lake Sarah, also off SH73. In Lake Lyndon fishers can enjoy fly, spin or bait fishing in season. Fly and spin fishing is permitted in the Waimakariri River, upstream of the confluence with the Staircase Stream, and in the Poulter River where there are big pools and even bigger fish!

Skiiers and snowboarders are spoiled for choice with 5 ski-fields located within 30 minutes drive of the Bealey Hotel. Four skifields are located between Porters Pass and Bealey. Porter Heights (skiporters.co.nz) is a commercial field and is also open in the summer for mountain biking with 2.3kms of tracks. The club skifields are Mt Cheeseman (mtcheeseman.co.nz), Broken River (brokenriver.co.nz) and Craigieburn (craigieburn.co.nz). Temple Basin (templebasin.co.nz) is a club field just 5kms out of Arthur’s Pass village. For more information on these skifields visit their websites or snow.co.nz.

Just a short drive from the Bealey Hotel, Craigieburn Forest Park has a range of mountain bike trails of varying lengths and challenges. Mountain biking is also permitted on the 25km track in the Poulter Valley, reached by travelling across the Mt White bridge and along Mt White Road to Poulter Valley. There’s more information on the Craigieburn bike tracks and Poulter Valley track on the Department of Conservation website doc.govt.nz Porter Heights ski field also has 2.3kms of mountain bike tracks open during the summer months. For more information, click here.