Hooker Valley Track – The Ultimate Hiking Guide

The Hooker Valley Track is one of New Zealand’s easiest and greatest day hikes.

We absolutely loved the few hours we spent on the Hooker Valley Trail – it’s an easy hike, it’s adventurous, and the scenery is absolutely phenomenal. What more can you ask for?

In this blog post, we’re going to share everything we know about the Hooker Valley Track in New Zealand.

First we’ll give you a bit of practical information about Hooker Valley such as how to get to the track, the distance, the hike time, and the elevation gain. Afterwards, we’ll share our own experience on this beautiful trail.

So whether you’re going to do the hike yourself or if you’re just looking for some armchair-traveling, then we’re hoping that you’ll get something out of this blog post. Now let’s get started!

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About Hooker Valley Track in New Zealand

This section is all the practical information you need to know about the Hooker Valley Track. So, if you’re going to do this short day hike yourself, you should find all the information you need in here.

Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park

You can find Hooker Valley Track in Mount Cook National Park in the South island of New Zealand.

Did you know that Mount Cook is the tallest mount in New Zealand with its 3724 meters height? Even in warm January, we found that it still has a white snowy peak.

So the National Park, in which you find Hooker Valley Track, is named after Mount Cook itself. However, the Māori name for Mount Cook is Aoraki.

According to the Māori legend, Aoraki was a young boy who stranded in his canoe with his brothers. They then froze to stone by the wind, and thus created the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

Don’t you just love how all places in New Zealand has a Māori name and history behind them?

The name Mount Cook came later with the British settlement. It was Captain J. L. Stokes who in 1851 named the mountain after Captain James Cook.

How to get to Hooker Valley Track

Once you reach the beautiful Lake Pukaki, it’s super easy to get to the trailhead. The Hooker Valley Track trailhead begins at White Horse Hill Campsite in Mount Cook National Park.

There are 58 kilometers between Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre and the trailhead, which means the drive will take about 40 minutes. You just follow Mount Cook Road (or Highway 80) to the end, and turn into Hooker Valley Road for an additional 2 kilometers to the trailhead. Super easy!

The drive next to Pukaki Lake is also one of the most breathtaking drives we did in all of New Zealand! So, please make sure to count in some extra time to stop at the viewpoint on the way.

If you’re not traveling New Zealand on wheels, then not to worry! You can easily join a hiking tour to Hooker Valley from Queenstown. It’s a small group tour with a guide that takes you onto the trail, and you will also have several other stops included on the way.

Hooker Valley Track Distance, Time & Elevation

We think that Hooker Valley Track is one of the easiest hikes we did in New Zealand.

The distance from the beginning of the Track to the end by Hooker Valley Lake and the Mount Cook viewpoint is about 5 kilometers. So the total distance is 10 kilometers since you return back by the same trail.

Hooker Valley Track can easily be done in 3 hours, however, we spent some extra time on the track because we took a long break by the Hooker Lake, plus we filmed on the way.

The elevation gain is only 124 meters, so don’t worry about not being able to do this hike. I’d say that most people who can put one leg in front of the other and walk for 10 kilometers, can do the Hooker Valley hike.

Side tip: Always check the weather before you go anywhere in New Zealand. The weather changes quickly (especially in the mountains) so wear extra layers and bring extra water – we’ve learned this the hard way.

Related post: Hiking Tips for Beginners

Where to stay by Hooker Valley Track

There is a campsite and a free parking lot by the trailhead. If you want to enjoy Hooker Valley Track without the big tourist crowds, then you should think about staying at the campsite and wake up early to have the walk all to yourself.

The campsite costs $15-18 per night for adults depending on what time of year you stay here. You can get more information about the Hooker Valley campsite here: White Horse Hill Campground

If you’re not into camping, then you can also stay in Mount Cook Village, which is a small village that’s located about 2 kilometres from the trail. Check out the available hotels on Booking.com.

Hiking Hooker Valley Track: What to expect?

All right, let’s move onto the Hooker Valley walk itself. This is the section where we tell you about our own experience on the trail. It will hopefully set your expectations for the track or just give you a bit of armchair-traveling. Either way, enjoy Hooker Valley Track!

1. The drive next to Lake Pukaki

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday in January when Glenn and I decided it was time to go hike Hooker Valley Track and finally get a good look at the incredible Mount Cook.

We had set our alarm to ring at an early hour, so that we could beat the crowds, which we knew were awaiting on this popular day hike in Hooker Valley.

We transformed the Gladiator (our very masculine and ugly rental van with grafitti of agressive gladiators on the sides) from a bedroom back to a van, and thus started the drive towards Mount Cook National Park.

The drive to the trailhead was just stunning!

The drive next to clear blue Lake Pukaki was so beautiful in itself, so even if you don’t want to do the hike, we would still recommend doing this incredible drive. There is even a great viewpoint, not far from the beginning of the road, which is mandatory to stop at in my opinion.

After spending waaay too much time at this viewpoint, and taking in the incredible views of Mount Cook from afar, we managed to take our eyes off the view and move on.

About an hour later, we made it to the parking lot at White Horse Hill Campsite.

Somehow the time had flown by, and we didn’t really manage to get there early to beat the crowds, which was our initial plan… Well, if you can’t beat the crowds, join them! So we joined the hundreds of other hikers after eventually finding a parking spot for the Gladiator.

2. Beginning the Hooker Valley Hike

It was time to finally start hiking the Hooker Valley Track. How exciting!

The sign at the beginning of the trail indicated that the hike time would take 3 hours, which is the perfect amount of time if you only have a few hours to spare on your itinerary.

The beginning of the hike was pretty uneventful. However, it wasn’t long until we reached our first viewpoint of the day and realized that we were in for a treat!

You can see Mount Cook from the parking lot, but once you start the trail, she disappears, and you’re left with other beautiful views over Hooker Valley.

So far, the only downside to this hike was all the other tourists on the trail. It was really busy.

We often saw big tour groups of 20+ people, which made the track feel very crowded. It’s not as big and wide a track like when you’re hiking the Tongariro Crossing or Roy’s Peak Track. You just don’t have that much space on Hooker Valley Track. However, we did visit on a sunny Sunday in the peak season, so I guess the big crowds were inevitable.

3. Crossing swing bridges over Hooker River

Moving on.

On the way to Hooker Lake, you have to cross 3 swing bridges.

Now, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m a big coward when it comes to heights… My legs become jell-o and my heart starts racing. I just can’t help it.

Crossing those swing bridges was a bit scary to me, but luckily they have restrictions on how many people can cross at a time. The swing bridges were also pretty wide, so you had a lot of space – they were nothing compared to the tiny, tall one we crossed in Waiohine Gorge.

And the reason why you have to cross the bridges is because you walk over and alongside Hooker River, which is just gorgeous!

4. Arriving at Hooker Valley Lake and Mount Cook viewpoint

It took us around 1-1,5 hours before we reached beautiful Hooker Lake and the viewpoint of Mount Cook. This is where the track ends. It’s such a spectacular view, and once you get there, it doesn’t seem so crowded as the track does.

We found a great spot to sit down and pulled out our lunch. The dry peanutbutter sandwich somehow tasted better when it was devoured with the incredible view over Hooker Lake and Mount Cook. Is it just me or does everything just taste better in beautiful surroundings?

Anyways, Hooker Lake is a proglacial lake that was formed in the late 1970’s from the Hooker Glacier. That’s why you can see small icebergs in the lake.

We ended up spending a small hour at the viewpoint (taking ridiculous pictures while enjoying the view), before we turned our backs on Mount Cook and faced the Hooker Valley Track again. It was time to go back.

Another successful day of exploring beautiful New Zealand had past.

Why you should hike the Hooker Valley Track

If you ever find yourself on New Zealand’s South island, then Hooker Valley Track is a MUST-DO in order to really appreciate Mount Cook up close. It’s honestly such a beautiful viewpoint that you’ll find at the lake.

I think that it’s a great trail because most people can do it. You don’t need top gear or a good physique to do this track. Just bring some proper walking shoes, a bottle of water, and some snacks. Along the way, you get beautiful views of several lakes, mountains and small waterfalls in Hooker Valley.

Also, if you’re a bird enthusiast, then keep your eyes open! To be honest, we know nothing about birds – the only birds we can name are seagulls and a pigeons… we city people can be quite the sad creatures. My point is, we saw a lot of different bird species along the way, and they were just so beautiful. So make sure to bring your binoculars before the hike.

Apart from the fact that Hooker Valley Track is a beautiful (and free) day hike, and a great way to see Mount Cook up close, the drive itself next to Lake Pukaki is also out-of-this-world beautiful. So even if you’re not a keen hiker, make sure to do a drive down this incredible road to Aoraki National Park.

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We hope you enjoyed this blog post about Hooker Valley Track. If you have any questions about the hike, then feel free to write a comment below, and we’ll get back to you. Thanks for reading and happy travels!

Check out some other great day hikes in New Zealand:

• Franz Josef Glacier Walk
• Tongariro Alpine Crossing
• Roy’s Peak Track in Wanaka
• Red Rocks Walk in Wellington