Visiting Cardrona
Helpful resort information to assist planning your trip to Cardrona.
- Season opens12 Jun 2021
- Season closes17 Oct 2021
- Accommodation
- Restaurants | Bars5 | 8
- Nearest Airport Queenstown
- Nearest Train Station —
- Tourist Office Website
- Tourist Office Phone+64 3 4438880
Cardrona Features
The terrain at Cardrona includes::
- Halfpipes2
- Terrain Parks4
- X-Country—
- Ski Hire—
What's it like at Cardrona resort?
Cardrona is located between Wanaka and Queenstown. The resort sits at 1760m. Cardrona has a good snow record and 8 lifts open up over 320 hectares of skiable terrain. The terrain at Cardrona is rugged and offers lots of natural features that make it interesting. There are good nursery slopes to learn on and the resort offers organised kids activities for children from 3 months to 12 years. This leaves the big kids free to play! Snowboarders and freestyle skies have 2 pipes and 4 terrain parks to explore. Some accommodation is available on site, which is quite unusual for a commercial ski field in New Zealand, but both Wanaka and Queenstown are within easy reach anyway.
Latest photos from Cardrona. View all photos at the Cardrona gallery page.
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Jerry Sinclair
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Photo credit: Snow Forecast Admin
Explore Cardrona Location Map
Interactive Cardrona trail map and piste map. View the piste and trails as well as the surrounding terrain and mountain contours for backcountry action. Find and compare nearby resorts by clicking on the resort markers.
Cardrona Live Weather
Resort | Snow Depth | Temp. (°C) | Wind (km/h) | Weather | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Top Lift: | 3 | |||||
Middle Lift: | 4 | |||||
Bottom Lift: | 7 | |||||

When's the snowiest month to visit Cardrona?
Visitor Reviews of Cardrona
Jonny from New Zealand writes:
Cardrona has had a lot of money invested in it over the last 3 seasons. This includes a complete revamp and new chair/gondola for the beginner slope. This summer they are putting in a new chair at the bottom of ‘Captains’ which will take the total number of chairs to 6 on the mountain. Cardrona have also secured the rights to the Soho Basin which will open in 2020. This will take the total skiable area to 900ha making it the largest ski field in New Zealand.
Cardrona also has the best snow park in NZ and has two half pipes.
All new snow making equipment and science means that there is always a good amount of snow on the mountain.
Like all resorts across the world in can get busy in the NZ/OZ school holidays. But with the new chair and areas opening this will help disperse the crowds. Otherwise, Cardrona wait times are normally pretty good.
Early season and spring are also good snow-sure options.
There are lots of places to eat and drink on the mountain. Prices are not hugely inflated and there is a good variety of food and drink to suit any budget.
Cardrona has an excellent selection of rental gear and update it every season. This means if you are renting up the hill you are getting modern, often new gear. not old worn out 6 season old stuff. There is also an option to hire ‘advanced’ skis and snowboards.
The staff here are excellent. The ‘Parks’ crew work tirelessly to keep all the jumps and rails in pristine condition. The lifties are always happy and cheerful and ski patrol know their business. You will be safe up the mountain at all times.
Most people wear helmets up Cardrona (80%) and there is a higher percentage of skiers over snowboarders. There is always a good friendly vibe on the mountain and the runs are well thought out.
And the best part is there are 3 other mountains all within an hour's drive.
Resorts close to Cardrona
Discover ski resorts near Cardrona. Click below to view there ski resort guides.