Getting started
Queenstown is the perfect place for a mountain bike holiday for beginners and starting out is easy. Queenstown is home to many friendly bike shops ready to get you in the saddle. They’ll give you the lowdown on the where to ride, and kit you out with the right equipment including high-spec hire bikes: lightweight, hard-tails for cruisy, cross-country rides; and full-suspension bikes suited to rougher terrain and downhill trails. Bring it on!
Not feeling quite so confident? Experienced local guides run a range of trips packed with hot riding tips, with coaching available for those wishing to take it to the next level. Shuttles transport riders and bikes to trails spread throughout the region, so all you need to bring is suitable clothing and a sense of adventure.
Around the Basin bike hire
The Queenstown Trail
To get into the groove, head out on the Queenstown Trail – more than 130km of themed, off-road rides linking downtown Queenstown with Frankton, Arrowtown and Gibbston. Graded easy to intermediate, they offer an unbeatable combination of fun riding, famous attractions and spectacular scenery.
A good option for beginners is the 15km Frankton Track and Kelvin Peninsula Trail that skirts around Queenstown Gardens before following the Frankton Arm lakeshore to Kelvin Peninsula. Further afield, the Arrow River Bridges Trail winds from irresistibly cute Arrowtown to wine-soaked Gibbston with wide, Whakatipu Basin vistas for most of the way.
Riding the Gibbston River Wine Trail
Bike Parks
7 Mile
The 7 Mile Bike Park offers a variety of beginner and intermediate trails that are perfect for a half day of riding or a few hours in the evening. The trail head is at beautiful Wilson Bay, located 10km west of Queenstown on the Glenorchy Road. 7 Mile is a network of natural loop-trails and sculpted flow trails, including natural obstacles and manmade structures that are perfect for that next step in progression.
7 Mile Scenic Reserve
Queenstown Bike Park
When you’re ready to wind things up a bit, hit the trails of the Queenstown Mountain Bike Park, a dedicated downhill park accessed by the Skyline Gondola and managed by the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club. Get your bike hitched on, cruise 450 metres up above Queenstown, then go with the flow down some of the 30km of awesome trails on offer.
The park’s easiest and longest track is Hammy’s, which twists for 6km through exotic forest with views across Lake Whakatipu to Cecil Peak and the Remarkables. The wide surface, mellow gradient and smooth berms are custom-made for honing off-road skills. There are plenty of trails in the park to work up through the grades as you dare!
Queenstown Bike Park
Hidden away in the mountains west of Queenstown, Moke Lake is another good place to try cross-country riding. A serene spot for picnicking and swimming, surrounded by golden, tussocky peaks, the lake is circumnavigated via an undulating track across grassland and boardwalk. A ride around Moke Lake can be combined with a spin around 7 Mile Bike Park and the Gold Digger trail too – an easy technical ride through a historic gold mining area.
Cardrona Alpine Resort
During the summer months, Cardrona Alpine Resort crank up two of its chairlifts to access to some of New Zealand’s highest and longest downhills complete with epic Southern Alps scenery. Situated between Queenstown and Wanaka, its bike school offers tuition to get beginners riding the laidback sweeps of A Real Journey, the park’s longest trail.
Coronet Peak
Once you've got more experience under your belt it could be time to try out mountain biking at Coronet Peak. Starting at the top of the Coronet Express chairlift, their trails boast incredible views over the Whakatipu Basin and beyond and are ideal for experienced riders with a range of intermediate-expert, lift accessed biking trails. A range of passes are available with full day, sunset or season passes on offer.
Lift-assisted riding at Coronet Peak