Where is Coronet Peak?
Coronet Peak ski area is located 16 kilometres to the northeast of
Queenstown New Zealand (a 20 minute drive), and 21 kilometres west of Arrowtown.
Coronet Peak is 76km from
Wanaka, a drive that takes about 1 hour to 1:20 hours.
Driving To Coronet Peak
Once in Queenstown, it is an easy drive to Coronet Peak on a fully sealed road, which is a major drawcard for the resort. The road even has some safety rails. A paved road and safety rails shouldn’t seem like a big deal (especially to international visitors!), but relative to some of the harrowing New Zealand ski field roads (aka goat tracks!), the drive up to Coronet Peak is an absolute dream.
If you’re
renting a car in Queenstown and plan to only ski or board at Coronet Peak, you’ll get away with just hiring a two wheel drive vehicle. Chains will need to be carried (for 2WD and 4WD) and signs on the way up the mountain will indicate if chains need to be put on.
It’s easiest to organise chains when you rent the car, but otherwise chains can be rented from various petrol stations and ski shops around Queenstown.
Even though the road is paved, the carpark is a traditional NZ unsealed carpark that has the potential to turn into a muddy mess. At least they have some stones in the car park, so it’s pretty good compared to some other NZ ski fields.
There are no issues with car park capacity, although if you don’t get there early you’ll have to park a long way from the day lodge. There are shuttle buses that run regularly between the lower car parks and the day lodge.
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Shuttles to Coronet Peak
If you don’t want to self-drive, there are regular shuttles between Queenstown and Coronet Peak.
NZSki runs the Express Shuttle from the Station Building in Duke Street Queenstown and it has a couple of outer Queenstown stops including the
Swiss Belresort Coronet Peak before heading up to Coronet Peak. The Coronet Peak buses depart from Queenstown approximately every 20 minutes from 8am to noon but there are no guarantees about timing or whether you'll get a space on the bus. Return buses commence from 1:30pm. There is also a night skiing bus service. Buses to Coronet Peak have to be pre-booked.
Or there’s a premium Coronet Peak hotel bus service that includes scheduled and guaranteed pick-ups at some hotels. These hotels include:
There are also options for private shuttle/bus to Coronet Peak, with similar hotel pick-ups to those above or a door-to-door service.
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Other Queenstown Ski Resorts
Nearby ski resorts:
Queenstown heli skiing companies: