Queenstown Gardens Trail

Explore Queenstown’s botanical gardens, with their rose garden and mature trees, before strolling on along Lake Wakatipu.

Distance: 3.1 km

Duration: 1.5-hour return

Difficulty: Easy. Wheelchair accessible and ideal for families with pushchairs.

Best time of year to go: Good all year

Location: Queenstown

Start / finish point: Queenstown Bay Beach

Insider’s tip: Continue along the Te Araroa Trail another 6 km to Frankton Marina. A flat easy trail, ideal for walking or cycling.

The Queenstown Garden Trail experience

Start your walk at Queenstown Bay Beach and take the Te Araroa Trail into the Queenstown Gardens. Established in 1866 the gardens are a tranquil lakeside sanctuary, with shady lawns and benches, a children’s playground, memorials to Robert Falcon Scott and William Gilbert Rees, who was the first European settler in the area, and the chance to play a round of Frisbee golf, bowls or tennis.

Follow the trail around the garden peninsula. After the gardens you can continue on the wide track along the lake shore. There are plenty of benches for you to stop and take in the views across Lake Wakatipu to the Kelvin Peninsula and Cecil and Walter Peak. Or, if you’ve stretched your legs enough, head back the way you came, or cut across the peninsula along Park Street, and head back to town to explore the boutiques, cafés, and bars.