Ski resorts · 28 ski areas
Best Ski Resorts in New Zealand
New Zealand has 28 ski areas with 262 km of mapped downhill runs and 126 lifts. The biggest is Cardrona Alpine Resort (37 km). The highest skiing reaches 2,316 m at Tūroa.
- Ski areas
- 28
- Downhill runs
- 262 km
- Lifts
- 126
- Highest point
- 2,316 m
New Zealand has 28 ski areas with 262 km of mapped downhill runs and 126 lifts. That puts it #22 of 73 skiing countries by number of resorts and #20 by kilometres of slopes, with 0.5% of all mapped slopes in the world. The average ski area has about 12.5 km of runs.
Biggest ski resorts in New Zealand
The largest ski areas are Cardrona Alpine Resort (37 km), Treble Cone Ski Area (31 km), Whakapapa (27 km), Coronet Peak (23 km) and Tūroa (19 km). Together these 5 hold 52% of the country's slopes. By size, 9 mid-sized areas have 10–50 km and 19 smaller ski hills have under 10 km — most skiing here happens on local hills close to towns.
Slopes and difficulty
Across all resorts, 19% of the slopes are beginner or easy, 49% intermediate and 32% advanced or expert — plenty of challenging terrain for strong skiers. Cross-country skiers will find 48 km of nordic trails.
Where to ski in New Zealand
The highest skiing is at Tūroa, up to 2,316 m, followed by Whakapapa (2,298 m). The longest vertical drop — 755 m — is at Roundhill Ski Field. Most slopes are in Otago Region (5 areas, 106 km), Canterbury Region (16 areas, 89 km) and Manawatu-Wanganui Region (2 areas, 46 km).
All ski resorts in New Zealand
| # | Ski area | Slopes | Lifts | Top | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardrona Alpine Resort | 37 km | 10 | 1,864 m | Otago Region |
| 2 | Treble Cone Ski Area | 31 km | 3 | 1,954 m | Otago Region |
| 3 | Whakapapa | 27 km | 12 | 2,298 m | Manawatu-Wanganui Region |
| 4 | Coronet Peak | 23 km | 8 | 1,613 m | Otago Region |
| 5 | Tūroa | 19 km | 7 | 2,316 m | Manawatu-Wanganui Region |
| 6 | The Remarkables Ski Area | 16 km | 7 | 1,986 m | Otago Region |
| 7 | Mount Hutt Ski Area | 14 km | 5 | 2,064 m | Canterbury Region |
| 8 | Porters Ski Area | 13 km | 6 | 1,942 m | Canterbury Region |
| 9 | Craigieburn Valley Ski Area | 12 km | 3 | 1,810 m | Canterbury Region |
| 10 | Broken River Ski Area | 9.9 km | 10 | 1,815 m | Canterbury Region |
| 11 | Roundhill Ski Field | 8.8 km | 4 | 2,120 m | Canterbury Region |
| 12 | Mount Cheeseman Ski Area | 8.8 km | 3 | 1,854 m | Canterbury Region |
| 13 | Mount Lyford Alpine Resort | 7.9 km | 6 | 1,735 m | Marlborough Region |
| 14 | Temple Basin | 7.4 km | 3 | 1,751 m | Canterbury Region |
| 15 | Mount Dobson Ski Field | 7.0 km | 4 | 2,010 m | Canterbury Region |
| 16 | Manganui | 6.7 km | 4 | 1,696 m | Taranaki Region |
| 17 | Rainbow Ski Area | 6.3 km | 5 | 1,744 m | Tasman Region |
| 18 | Ōhau Snow Fields | 5.6 km | 3 | 1,799 m | Canterbury Region |
| 19 | Fox Peak Ski Area | 1.4 km | 5 | 1,843 m | Canterbury Region |
| 20 | Mount Olympus Ski Area | 1.3 km | 5 | 1,814 m | Canterbury Region |
| 21 | Snowplanet | 0.2 km | 4 | 60 m | Auckland Region |
| 22 | Awakino Ski Area | — | 3 | 1,694 m | Canterbury Region |
| 23 | Hanmer Springs Ski Area | — | 3 | 1,751 m | Canterbury Region |
| 24 | Tukino Skifield | — | 3 | 1,971 m | Waikato Region |
| 25 | Craigieburn | — | — | — | Canterbury Region |
| 26 | Lake Stella | — | — | — | Canterbury Region |
| 27 | Mt. Olympus | — | — | — | Canterbury Region |
| 28 | Snow Farm | — | — | 1,706 m | Otago Region |
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Data: OpenSkiMap — © OpenStreetMap contributors & Skimap.org (ODbL 1.0). Slopes = mapped downhill runs.