Miners Tunnel Track

Miners Tunnel Track is a coastal out-and-back from the Gillespies Beach campsite to an old miners’ tunnel and lookout above the shore. The mapped walk is about 2.5 km each way, so allow roughly 5.1 km (3.2 miles) return and about 1 hour 40 minutes. A 3.6 km return figure appears in some trail information, but it is shorter than the carpark-to-tunnel line; use the longer estimate for planning. This is an easy-to-moderate heritage walk rather than a big climb, with several distinct places to stop along the way.

The track leaves the main car park through gorse-covered gold-mining tailings and passes the remains of a rusting bucket dredge. It then reaches the beach; walk north along the shore to Gillespies Lagoon, then follow the short inland approach to the bridge. The crossing is not at the lagoon mouth. The beach is cobbly, so expect slower footing than a formed path. On a clear day, the bridge gives you a look across the lagoon toward the Southern Alps. It’s the best place to frame the bridge with the water and mountains behind it.

After the bridge, the track follows an old gold miners’ pack route and climbs over a glacier moraine to the tunnel. The tunnel was built to give miners access to their claims at all tides. It opens onto a viewpoint above the beach, with no way down to the shore; turn around there and return by the same route. The Galway Beach branch is signed just before the tunnel and leads to a different, longer walk, so stay on the Miners Tunnel line for this outing.

Start at the main Gillespies Beach car park beside the DOC campsite. The road from Fox Glacier is about 21 km, including 11 km on Gillespies Beach Road; much of the approach is narrow and unsealed, and it isn’t suitable for towing vehicles. DOC does not allow dogs on these tracks. West Coast weather can change quickly, so take warm waterproof layers even for this short walk.