Routeburn Flats Hut

Routeburn Flats Hut is a 20-bunk Great Walk hut on open grass flats beside the Route Burn in Mount Aspiring National Park. It makes a natural first or last night for people walking the Routeburn, and it works as a day-walk destination too. It’s 7.5 km one way from Routeburn Shelter, so a visit is a proper 15 km round trip on foot. The open valley floor is the payoff: the river winds across the flats with the Humboldt Mountains beyond.

Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours each way. The track starts beside the clear Route Burn, passes Sugarloaf Stream, then climbs to Bridal Veil Waterfall. It continues above the gorge before a swing bridge brings you onto the flats. Routeburn Shelter is 25 km from Glenorchy on a partly unsealed road, so allow for the drive as well as the walk.

Routeburn Falls Hut is another 2.3 km and 1 to 1.5 hours away. That section climbs steadily through beech forest, with views of the Humboldt Mountains. Stopping here splits the Routeburn before that climb; for a day walk, the hut and open flats make a clear turnaround.

During the Great Walk season, 1 November to 30 April, the hut has 20 bunks with mattresses, cooking facilities and fuel, tables and seating, heating, solar lighting in the kitchen, washbasins and flush toilets. Bring your own food, sleeping bag and cookware; none are supplied, and there are no showers. The tap water is untreated, so boil it before drinking.

From 1 May to 31 October, beds are first come, facilities are reduced and bookings aren’t required. Bring a stove: gas isn’t supplied, indoor running water is off, and pit toilets replace the flush toilets. The full Routeburn is an alpine trip in winter, with possible snow, ice, avalanche and river-crossing hazards and short daylight. It suits fit, experienced walkers with the right alpine, river-crossing and navigation skills.

The present building dates to 1973, replacing an earlier hut built in 1908. An open extension was added later.