Temple Basin Track

Temple Basin Track is a steep 4.2 km return out-and-back from State Highway 73 to the ski-club buildings and Lockwood Day Shelter. The marked track climbs 2.1 km each way from the roadside car park. Allow about three hours for the return trip; the climb is sustained, and the footing is rocky in places. It suits hikers who want a short but demanding alpine ascent, rather than an easy stroll.

The track begins above the bushline and stays exposed. Choose settled weather, wear sturdy footwear, and carry warm and waterproof layers, sun protection, food and water. Snow can cover the marked line and make route-finding harder. Dogs are not allowed. Follow any ski-area access closures, and turn around at the shelter: there is no marked walking route beyond it, where complex avalanche terrain begins.

From the unpaved SH73 car park, the route zigzags steeply up the open slope. Because the route is exposed above the bushline, keep a steady pace and save energy for the descent on the same line. On the way down, the same steep, rocky sections call for careful foot placement and a slower pace; leave enough time for the return rather than treating it as a quick finish. The marked path eventually reaches an open tussock basin, where the climb gives way to a cluster of ski-area buildings. The short distance can understate the effort: this is a serious uphill walk, not a level approach to the lodges.

Lockwood Day Shelter is the official endpoint of the marked track. The shelter and nearby ski-club buildings make a clear place to pause before retracing the route to the highway. Some descriptions of Temple Basin cover a longer ski-field outing; this trail record follows the marked 2.1 km approach each way and does not add the unmarked terrain above the shelter. Do not continue uphill expecting another maintained path.

Temple Basin’s ski club was founded in 1929, when people carried supplies and building materials up the hill. A jeep track approved in 1954 reached only about a third of the way up; the rest still had to be hauled on foot. A goods lift opened in 1962. The walking approach remains part of the place’s character: the buildings sit high above the road because getting equipment there has always been a challenge.

On a clear day, look across the valley toward Mt Rolleston, also known by its Māori name Kaimatau. Alpine flowers typically bloom from November through February, adding color to the meadows around the basin. For a photograph, the lodge cluster framed by the surrounding peaks gives a sense of how the ski area occupies this high, open bowl; cloud can quickly hide the larger mountain view.