Ski New Zealand: Make Wānaka your alpine resort base

When winter comes to the Southern Alps, Wānaka transforms from lakeside retreat into alpine resort and the epicentre of New Zealand’s most accessible skiing. All being aligned on the weather front, from June through October visitors and locals alike trade the lake for the peaks. What sets Wānaka apart: you can ski New Zealand’s largest ski field one day and its most technically demanding terrain another, all from the same lakeside luxury holiday home.

Wānaka is not only the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park and Central Otago’s backcountry. It’s also the only place in the country where you can unpack once and access multiple ski experiences: learner slopes and family-friendly groomed runs as well as expert-only terrain and untouched backcountry snow accessed by helicopter.

For discerning travellers who want their winter holidays to balance serious skiing with the refinement of a luxury base, this combination is hard to beat.

Why Wānaka for a ski holiday

Queenstown might feel like the obvious alpine choice. It’s the international gateway, the adrenalin hub, the place where ski holidays are built around après-ski energy and crowds. Wānaka offers something different: space, privacy, and the rare luxury of choosing your ski experience each morning without the logistics of moving between bases.

Here’s what you get from staying in Wānaka over winter: some days you can ski Cardrona – New Zealand’s largest ski field as of 2025 and Treble Cone on other days.

Cardrona’s groomed pistes, family-friendly zones, and reliable snow-making are popular with visitors for the diversity of runs suited to all ski abilities. There’s even a creche for those not yet big enough to put on the boots. There’s a learner slope and a hugely popular ski school, group and private lessons are available. For those here for the season, their weekend Ride Tribe programme is popular with local kids, and with their parents – it’s the best active childcare option around!

Choose Treble Cone and you trade groomed runs for natural terrain and the sort of fall-line skiing that only comes from untracked snow. Despite hosting only two chairlifts, the amount of challenging terrain is epic and this is a favourite haunt for locals.

Later in the season, once the powder is stacked a little more reliably, backcountry heli-skiing comes into its own. It’s one of those must-do Wānaka experiences for avid skiers and powder fans.

Non-skiers can hunker down in the bars and restaurants at the base of the mountain or stay by the lake for abundant walks and trails, and wine tastings. But if you want to entice them to play in the snow without raising their heartbeat, head over to the Snow Farm. Epic snowball fights await!

Both ski fields are within a 30 minute drive of Wānaka – close enough to make early starts for first tracks civilised, far enough that non-skiers in your group don’t feel they’re on a snow-only holiday. It’s the best of both worlds: serious alpine access without sacrificing the sanctuary of a truly serene base that appeals to everyone.

Ski Cardrona

Cardrona is New Zealand’s largest ski field having open its Soho 6-seater chair in 2025 and introducing a whole new playground for the more adventurous downhillers. Cardrona is an all-round ski resort in the truest sense: the terrain spans beginner-friendly green runs, flowing intermediate blue runs, technical blacks, and a terrain park that punches above its weight.

Vertical drop sits around 1,100 metres, the corduroy for first tracks is consistent across the mountain and the team does a stellar job of keeping the field accessible even when the weather gods don’t play ball. Snowmaking covers about 70% of the field, which matters in a region where conditions can be variable. If the natural snow hasn’t come, Cardrona’s infrastructure means you’ll still find skiable terrain. For 2026 and beyond, they’re investing in a huge snowmaking programme for Soho to ensure the whole field is always ski-able.

The field itself sits at 2,050 metres at the top, which sounds dramatic until you realise it means temperatures stay cold enough to hold snow well into spring. Come spring, although the conditions soften by early afternoon, it’s often when the best snow falls.

What Cardrona is known for

Family skiing: Cardrona’s bottom half flows beautifully for families and beginner skiers. The runs are just long enough, mellow, and genuinely fun to cruise. Lessons are well-organised, and the on-mountain experience doesn’t feel rushed. Many guest groups with mixed abilities – some keeners, some cautious – find Cardrona hits the sweet spot.

Terrain parks: If anyone in your group cares about tricks and jumps, Cardrona has invested seriously here. Multiple parks cater to different levels, from small features for first-timers through to halfpipess that make strong park skiers happy.

Reliability: You know what you’re getting. Grooming is consistent, infrastructure is solid, and the field rarely shuts down mid-week due to wind or conditions.

Ski Treble Cone

Treble Cone is where Wānaka’s ski experience gets serious. It’s smaller than Cardrona (vertical drop around 600m), sits slightly higher and more exposed, yet offers the sort of variable terrain that rewards confident skiers and demands respect from everyone else.

The character of Treble Cone is defined by natural terrain and steep fall-line runs. Grooming happens, but this isn’t a field where skiers and snowboarders spend all day on corduroy. People ski Treble Cone to ski the entire field – unless it’s tapped off, it’s access all areas (with advisory notices about capability required for some parts).

Treble Cone offers some of the best skiing in the Southern Hemisphere. Compared to Cardrona, runs are longer and steeper – you know you’ve spent a day on the runs here. Yet it retains its friendly, welcoming, Kiwi vibe.

What Treble Cone is known for

Natural terrain: Runs aren’t heavily sculpted. They follow the mountain’s fall-line, which means steeper pitches, and genuine intermediate/advanced skiing. If you’ve learned to ski on groomed runs, Treble Cone teaches you something different.

Local vibe: TC, as the locals call it, is loved by locals who wind up the mountain for the best of the limited lift-side parking and hang around for a beer by the fire as the keas settle in to collect everyone’s lunch crumbs.

Quality over quantity: It’s not the biggest ski field but it definitely packs in the fun.

Everything you need to plan your trip in 2026 Beyond the fields: backcountry skiing and snowboarding

For skiers seeking the ultimate alpine experience, the Southern Alps offers backcountry access that doesn’t require a multiday expedition. Heli-skiing operators run directly from Wānaka, dropping you into terrain that feels genuinely remote despite being accessible for a single day.

A typical heli-ski day works like this: you’re collected early from your villa (or from the helipad in town), fly 15–20 minutes into the high country, and access terrain that backcountry enthusiasts might otherwise need days to reach. Depending on your ability, snow conditions, weather, and guide decisions, you can ski typical runs of 600-700m or there a glacier options too. If you’re making a day of it, a gourmet picnic lunch in the mountains is a fantastic addition.

There’s also Snow Farm, near Cardrona, which offers cross-country and Nordic skiing for those seeking a different rhythm. It’s smaller, quieter, and appeals to skiers who value distance and flow over vertical-induced adrenalin.

A luxury winter stay in a Wānaka villa

The beauty of basing yourself in Wānaka is that your ski day works in symphony with everything else, and can be entirely flexible. You’re not on the mountain but you’re only 30 minutes from the lift. So with one either on the snow reports that come out first thing you’ll know whether it’s a powder day or a day by the lake.

On white-out day or for members of your group without skiing plans you’ll still need to wrap up warm to enjoy what’s on offer outdoors, but there are plenty of options. You could take a lake cruise or hire bikes for a gentle lakeside e-bike ride. If lakeside days are about relaxing, opt for a massage at a spa in town or request for a masseuse to come to the villa.

Evening is where the luxury element crystallises. You’re not trooping into a busy resort restaurant. Dinner is either a private chef experience in your villa or a short drive or wander into town for refined but relaxed dining at places like Arc or Sofi.

Wānaka skiing practicalities

Depending how long your wintering in Wānaka for, it might be worthwhile investing in a season pass that gives you access to both Wānaka ski fields. If you’re just here for a holiday – purchase your pass according to your ability, sense of adventure and need for tuition.

Naturally, school holiday periods are busier on the slopes especially as New Zealand and Australia school holiday tend to coincide. There’s also a noticeable uplift in last minute Aussie arrivals when new breaks that snow is forecast! If you’re flexible, aim for Tuesday–Thursday in peak season to enjoy the best snow without the crowds.

Book your Wānaka luxury accommodation early if you’re planning a ski holiday. Equipment rental can be arranged through the resorts (saves you carry gear up the mountain) or through hire shops in town.

Ready to winter in Wānaka?

Wānaka is a year round destination, but when you make it your winter base you get to choose your experience every morning: full-on alpine adventure, family-friendly terrain, technical challenges, or backcountry adrenalin. For skiers who’ve done the resort circuit and want something more intimate yet relaxed, it delivers.

Is it time to consider a Wānaka winter?

Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies

Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies is CMO of Release NZ. Release NZ represents a portfolio of luxury holiday accommodation in Wānaka and Queenstown – their passion being to connect guests to everything that makes this part of the world so special. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

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