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Turoa resort snow
Lat Long: 39.30° S 175.53° E
Ski New Zealand

Turoa Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Turoa at 1962 m altitude

Issued: 11 pm 20 Apr 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Turoa: 5 cm on Tue 21st  (after 6 AM)

Visitor reviews for Turoa Ski Resort

Turoa Ratings

Overall: 3.6. Based on 60 votes and 40 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.8

  • 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
  • Turoa is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.1

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

Off-piste: 3.9

  • 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: 4.5

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

Access: 3.3

  • 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 Turoa

Public Transport: 3.4

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

Accommodation: 4.2

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

Cheap Rooms: 4.1

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

Luxury Hotels: 3.5

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

Ski in/Ski out: 2.1

  • 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: 3.8

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

Snowmaking: 3.9

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

Snow Grooming: 4.2

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

Shelter: 2.4

  • 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
  • Turoa is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.1

  • If snow conditions are poor at Turoa, 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: 4.2

  • Turoa 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: 4.4

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

Crowds/Queues: 2.9

  • 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: 3.9

  • 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: 4.5

  • 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: 3.7

  • 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: 4.3

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

Advanced: 4.4

  • 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: 3.7

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

Cross-country: 2.2

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

Luge/Toboggan: 2.6

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

Mountain Dining: 3.4

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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: 2.5

  • 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: 3.4

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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): 3.6

  • Overall, Turoa 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): 3.6

  • Overall, Turoa 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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April 22, 2024
Nickoffskiing
Turoa is an awesome destination. The terrain is varied and there is something for all levels. It has recently been taken over from the administrators and now runs separately from Whakapapa. I was lucky enough to be there for 10 bluebird days in a row last August with a snow base in excess of 2 metres and it was reportedly the best snow in the world at the time. Midweek is the time to be there, sometimes on a Tuesday/Wednesday it feels like there's only about 40 of us using the top lift. The weather can be unpredictable, but let's face it, bad weather generally means more fresh snow right?
September 20, 2022
April from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Ruapehu is a volcano which means it has wicked terrain, Turoa on the south side is awesome. There is loads of off-trail terrain to explore with plenty of fun and interesting on trail runs. It is also a great spot for learning as there are lots of runs and some areas where it is quite wide. They also have a park (or parks if you're lucky) set up most of the time. It is a tricky maunga (mountain) to plan for as the weather can change at any time. It's best to stay in the area for a week or plan trips last minute (literally the night before) to score epic days.
July 04, 2021
Voight
Being from Brisbane, Ruapehu has been our 'go to' mountain for the last 20 years. Breath-taking scenery. Wonderful Kiwi friends. Great hospitality. So easy to get to for us. Fly to Wellington (or Auckland), 2 hours. Drive to Ohakune, 4 hours. It used to be even better when we could fly direct to Palmie and drive for only 2 hours. Have skied the South Island. It's good and has some variety but Ruapehu beats it because the drive up the mountain (from Ohakune) is only 17 minutes. Can't beat that! On cruddy days, there are other activities. Spring is best for more stable weather.
June 20, 2021
kane from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Have been riding Turoa/Whakas for 25 yrs or so now and it's easily the best hill in the country, terrain wise. You honestly can't beat it. Have been down south several times over the years, more so for the kids to get more time on skis as the weather is more reliable. Its got nothing on Ruapehu terrain wise, you get bored pretty quick down there. The only issue is the weather on Ruapehu. In winter it is hard to score bluebird with pow. You need to be 'johnny on the spot'. Spring, on the other hand, is epic. There is so much terrain up there. If you have never been go in September/October.
September 23, 2019
Brett from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
I've skied Turoa all my life. But haven't for ten years. Recently I've seen things from a parent of toddlers prospective. Took the kids up there and I.think they need closer parking for parents with kids. Most other public businesses cater for this these days. They also sold me sled park tickets when, in fact, it was closed due to them being too lazy to run a groomer over it (only to open in the arvo when my toddlers have got very tired and need to go home). General appearance of the place is run down 'n dirty; toilets have no soap, paper towels or hand dryer not working .No policing of the self-entitled youths leaving skis 'n boards in the walk ways. Generally thought its being badly managed, like most NZ businesses these days
October 08, 2018
adam from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
The best mountain in the country on a good day in my opinion! Turoa has everything, from great groomed runs to powder bowls, a decent park, steeps, drops, chutes galore. Lifts can get pretty busy on the weekends if the weather is good. Score a midweek powder day and you will be riding fresh lines all day! It is really exposed so can quite often have high winds and be closed. This also means it gets some epic dumps. Typical for the off-piste to be completely frozen so make sure you sharpen your edges! Usual expensive mountain prices for food but you can just take your own and leave a bag outside the cafe :) Get up there early to get a good car park. People are quick to criticise for many reasons but RAL is a non-profit organisation so any profits get put back in to the resort. There can be delays opening the lifts due to de-icing. Ohakune is a great little ski town with decent bars, restaurants and cafes. Check out TBC for all of your gear needs. Make sure you go to the Choclate Eclair Shop. Best ever! Also try the afghans and the steak, mince and cheese pies! This season has been the best I can remember with every weekend being bluebird and lots of them being powder days! This season a major avalanche took out one of the towers and broke the cable of the top main lift but they have done some excellent work pushing snow around and making new trails. If you don't mind hiking the summit is around a 1 hour walk from the top of the 6 seater lift with amazing views and you can see the crater lake (it's actually a live volcano that erupted last in 1995) I have been coming here for over 30 years and have snowboarded all around the world and have had some of the best days of my life here! Love this mountain :)
June 02, 2016
Lukeski from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Turoa is a beautiful resort and definitely the best lift accessible terrain on the North Island, with sweeping wide and steep runs of the 6 great back country bowls and shoots all traversable from the lift, and even more just a short hike away, And the glorious descent from the summit is something else when the conditions are right (and you feel like a good walk). Best time to ski here is definitely midweek as there are no lift lines to worry about, groomers are uncrowded, staff and customers seem genuinely friendlier. I work weekends and get Wednesday, Thursday off work so generally take the Tuesday and Friday off as to get a good amount of days in. Skiing the weekend at Turoa is another story, however. Turoa gets a lot of traffic during the weekends and school holidays making the field very congested. A combination of Auckland and Wellingtonians and everyone in between heads to the slopes of Ruapaehu at a moment's notice when the conditions are looking good. Meaning the resort gets slammed with gapers of all shapes and sizes looking to score a few good turns. Unfortunately, Turoa only has 1 express chair ( I think Movenpick and Giant should also run express ( Detatchable lifts ) as the ones they are using now are painfully slow. People often complain about the staff especially during busy times, which i don't think is fair; its not their fault thousands of people showed up to ski when the resort can't really handle that many people. Anyway, I love Turoa. Only a short 4.5 hr drive from home (including a stop at the Taumaranui maccas); can't wait for the first trip this season 1 month to go.
August 28, 2015
Anthony Stone from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Great day today. However, really disappointing that from about 11am, for rest of the day, no RAL staff coordinating the queues at the 6 seater chair. Chaos with the majority of chairs having less than 6 people resulting in unnecessary long queues. Come on RAL, expensive day passes deserve better service. The girl who did coordinate was friendly; why did she leave?
June 15, 2015
SkiwiLeCreep from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Turoa is a beauty, mate; you're going to have a rad time. Smoking all the kush from those chill lifties and patrollers are pretty chill most of the time. The field is skiable for usually 6 months of the year, unless it gets hammered by that wonderful rain. Heaps of backcountry pow almost as good as skiing mordor. But ,in reality, if you're going to bitch how bad the facilities are just start touring. Maybe ride it how it is. Newschoolers for life. [note from the editor: edited for the sake of relevance.]
June 05, 2015
bob from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Super fun chutes when the powder isn't wind effected. The runs are kinda rubbish; super rocky and super crowded! Shame the lifts don't go higher; a peak run would be fun without the hike. If there's enough snow the chutes are epically fun. The snow can be very disappointing. It's so open that it quickly becomes icy. To sum it up: fun when the chutes are good and rubbish when not.