Mount Creighton
The stretch of the Glenorchy road about twelve kilometres from Queenstown: the Mt Crichton loop, Twelve Mile Creek and its gold workings, and Sam Summers' Hut.
Mount Creighton is the locality on the western shore of Lake Wakatipu, about twelve kilometres out of Queenstown on the Glenorchy road. There is no village here — it is farm country, bush and lakefront, and the reason to stop is what runs up the hill behind it.
A note on the spelling. The locality is Mount Creighton. The peak and the Department of Conservation reserve and track behind it are spelled Mt Crichton, and that is the spelling you will see on the signs and in the track notes. If you are searching for the walk, search for Crichton.
The Mt Crichton Loop Track
The car park is on the Glenorchy road, twelve kilometres from town. The full loop is 2 to 3 hours and graded easy, and it is one of the better short walks in the district because of what is on it rather than the views — this is a bush walk through a worked-over goldfield.
On the way round: the Twelve Mile Creek gorge, where the sluicing scars are still obvious; a waterfall; a rock fissure cut as a tail race to carry water away from the workings; and Sam Summers' Hut, which is the thing most people come for.
If you have children or an hour rather than three, the walk to the hut and the waterfall and back is about an hour and covers the best of it.
A link from the eastern ridge joins the Lake Dispute walkway, and from there you can carry on over the saddle to Moke Lake.
Mountain biking is not allowed on this track or on the link to Lake Dispute.
Before you go
There are old mine shafts along the route and steep drop-offs in places, so keep to the track and keep an eye on children. The bridge that crossed the creek at the Māori Gully confluence was destroyed in a flood and has not been replaced — do not cross if the creek is high or discoloured. There are slips on the track.
No shop, no fuel and no toilets at the road end, though there is a toilet at the hut. Fill up in Queenstown or Frankton.
Further up the road
Twelve Mile Delta, a little further towards Glenorchy, has a Department of Conservation campsite that takes campers without a booking, and it is where the Ithilien camp scenes in The Lord of the Rings were filmed. Bobs Cove is a short easy walk on the same stretch. Glenorchy is another half hour on.
The lake road closes from time to time after slips, particularly in spring. Check the council's road reports before a long day out here.
More in Towns
See all
Arrowtown
Eighteen kilometres from Queenstown: a gold-mining village with its original street intact, the Arrow River walk, and the autumn colour in April.
Glenorchy
Forty-five minutes up the lake from Queenstown: the red shed, the lagoon boardwalk, Mrs Woolly's, and the trailheads for the Routeburn and the Rees-Dart.
Wanaka
The quieter lake town, an hour from Queenstown over the Crown Range. Cardrona and Treble Cone, the willow at Roys Bay, and getting there in winter.