Parking
Follow Mount Bealey Road off SH73 to its end in Arthur’s Pass village; that is the track start. Parking capacity, fees and facilities at the road end are not clearly documented.
Overview
About Mount Bealey Track
Why go
- A 610 m climb ends at a defined bushline viewpoint.
- The official track has a clear turnaround before the unmarked summit terrain.
Heads up
- The short distance hides a very steep, rooty climb.
- Snow and unmarked avalanche paths make winter travel serious.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Arthur's Pass map
Full mapElevation733–1,362 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Arthur's Pass alerts
- CautionFlood damage and rockfall risk on Harper Pass RouteFlood damage and an active slip affect the Harper Pass Route below Kiwi Hut and near Locke Stream Hut.Official details
- CautionFlood damage on route to Sudden Valley BivvySignificant flood damage makes the route to Sudden Valley Bivvy passable only when rivers are low.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Arthur's Pass Tour Guide
Your drive to Mount Bealey Track, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Arthur's Pass National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Mount Bealey Track0:00 / 0:28
“Mount Bealey Track is ahead, a steep forest climb to views over Arthur's Pass at the bushline. Allow two to four hours return on rough, rooty ground; this is for fit, experienced trampers.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Arthur's Pass Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Arthur's Pass Chapel and Avalanche Creek
- Arthur's Pass Visitor Centre
- Avalanche Creek Shelter Campsite
- Avalanche Peak from the Village
- 42 audio storiesacross Arthur's Pass’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, New Zealand Falcon, Blue Duck, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 49 trails, 59 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Mount Bealey Track
A steep day for the distanceMount Bealey Track is a 3.2 km (2.
Mount Bealey Track is a 3.2 km (2.0 mi) out-and-back from the end of Mount Bealey Road to the bushline on Mount Bealey. It climbs about 610 m over roughly 1.6 km each way; allow 2–4 hours. This is an Advanced tramping track for fit, experienced trampers, not a gentle village walk. The bushline is the official track end and the turnaround.
Stick to the orange markersThe track climbs steeply through rough, uneven forest, with roots to scramble over on the way…
The track climbs steeply through rough, uneven forest, with roots to scramble over on the way up and down. Follow the orange triangles closely. Markers of other colours belong to traplines. Leaving the track or following streams can take you toward steep cliffs, so don't improvise a descent.
The bushline payoffAt the track end, the trees open onto views of Arthur’s Pass and the surrounding mountains.
At the track end, the trees open onto views of Arthur’s Pass and the surrounding mountains. This is a good place to stop and take in the change from forest to open slope; keep some of the rocky, scrubby edge in the foreground if you take a photo. There is no marked route to Mount Bealey’s summit, which is a much longer and more serious alpine continuation. Turn around here unless you have the experience and equipment for unmarked terrain.
Bring real tramping gearThe short distance hides a hard climb.
The short distance hides a hard climb. Carry warm, waterproof layers, an emergency shelter, spare food, a torch, a distress beacon and a charged phone in case delays turn a day walk into a night out. Winter brings snow, ice and unmarked avalanche paths across the track; avalanche skills and equipment are needed when snow is present.
Listen in the forestThis route passes through known kiwi habitat.
This route passes through known kiwi habitat. Kea are often seen or heard here, and the area is also home to titipounamu (riflemen), toutouwai (South Island robins) and miromiro (tomtits). Keep an ear out as you climb through the trees.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Arthur's Pass
982 sightingsKeaMost seen around noonSighting map
39 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
190 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
20 sightingsKākāMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
15 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Arthur's Pass. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
