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Ohau resort snow
Lat Long: 44.23° S 169.78° E
Ski New Zealand

Ohau Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Ohau at 1625 m altitude

Issued: 11 pm 20 Apr 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Ohau: 0.1 cm on Tue 21st  (after 6 AM)

Visitor reviews for Ohau Ski Resort

Ohau Ratings

Overall: 3.4. Based on 10 votes and 3 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.7

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Ohau is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.6

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Ohau has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.2

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.3

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.4

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Ohau

Public Transport: 2.7

  • There are no buses or taxis to Ohau
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.7

  • No places to stay in/near Ohau
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.2

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 3.3

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Ohau

Ski in/Ski out: 2.7

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 2.3

  • There are no child care facilities at Ohau
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.7

  • Ohau relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.1

  • There are no snow groomers at Ohau
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Ohau are groomed daily

Shelter: 2.5

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Ohau is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.2

  • If snow conditions are poor at Ohau, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.6

  • Ohau usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.1

  • The staff at Ohau are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Ohau are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 4.3

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.8

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.8

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.1

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.9

  • No intermediate terrain at Ohau
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.0

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.1

  • Not even a kicker at Ohau
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 2.4

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Ohau
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.0

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Ohau has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.1

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.4

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 2.8

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 2.1

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 2.9

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.1

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.7

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 4.0

  • Overall, Ohau is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.4

  • Overall, Ohau is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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August 27, 2008
Chris Barnett
I just returned from an epic skiing adventure from Ohau 17/08/2008 - 20/08/2008. I agree with the previous reviews. This place packs a "wicked" punch and defiantly punches above it's weight for both terrain and atmosphere. First of all, the view from the ski field over lake Ohau has to be seen in person to be believed, and some photo's although look awesome, just are not as good as the real thing! The Staff on the Mountain and Ohau lodge are excellent, and in my mind should be retained. The day lodge up on the mountain makes an excellent coffee, and provides plenty of refreshment after all the walking up to Sutton’s peak. The groomed runs first thing in the morning are a great way to warm up the legs. What terrain in bounds not to mention all the Off Piste walking! Some in our group managed 800 vertical meters from the top of Sutton's to the digger on one of the bends in the road coming up the Mountain! Not bad for such a little ski field!!!! The Ohau Lodge at the base of the drive up to the ski area, was a beautiful place to stay, It had a rustic old world charm with modern day creature comforts, once again the hiring policy has to be recommended (Yay for the English Girls, very pleasant on the eyes indeed), the food was much better than I would of imagined and the rooms were very warm and comfortable. What a pleasure to wake up to some of the best views in the world!!!! I’m bringing my kids next time! One of New Zealand’s best kept secrets and I hope it stays that way!!!!
August 15, 2008
Michael Gibson from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Totally agree with the last review. The views coming down the ski field are stunning - one of the prettiest places I have ever skied! The terrain is also interesting too. In fact the terrain park was empty the day we were there, as there are so many natural features and jumps across the mountain. Has access to great back-country with a little bit of hiking onto the top ridge. This is a very special ski area, well worth a trip!
June 16, 2008
Jonathan Bowen from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Great field that, although not big, makes up for variety and is in no way boring; plenty of advanced runs if you want them. Had some of the best skiing in the country here. Some great runs off the top ridge for a 20 minute walk. It's not crowded, with a relaxed atmosphere and accommodation at Ohau lodge - located at the base of the field has accommodation from back packers to beautiful rooms overlooking the lake, mostly built I think in the 60's / 70's and retains that style. Great bar and social dinning; open log fires. Twizel and Omarama are the next closest accommodation centers about 30 min away. Mad not to drop in for a couple of days if in the region. Very beautiful area.