Ski or snowboard at Coronet Peak in NZ
Coronet Peak is the nearest ski and snowboard resort to Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand. It can be accessed by a fully sealed road and it is only about twenty minutes drive from town. The resort itself is fantastic. The service building has recently had a multi million dollar facelift and is now the best in the country. It contains a huge restaurant and cafeteria complex with wonderful views out over the ski fields. It has a really well equipped ski hire service and ski shop as well as a medical center and ski patrol area. There is a huge undercover area beneath the building for storage and plenty of staff to deal with selling lift tickets and the like. The view from the service area is panoramic over Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown and the surrounding valleys. It is really quite magnificent.
Out on the slopes there are three large chair lifts that provide heaps of up mountain capacity. Lift queues are usually short at Coronet Peak and you are back up the mountain again for your next run before you know it. Coronet Peak caters for both skiers and snowboarders. There are also plenty of different runs to suit all different standards of skiers. You can take your time on the "Big Easy" or find a black diamond Olympic run if that's where you are at. The ski school has its own slope with a magic carpet so it is easy to start finding your feet before you try the descent from the top of the mountain.
All runs are colour coded so that it is easy to follow a route that suits your standard. Queenstown's slopes are floodlit at night and night skiing here is very popular. There is no on snow accommodation at Coronet peak so everyone stays in Queenstown. A shuttle bus runs to the mountain every half hour or you can drive your own car to the slopes. Chains must be carried and fitted if instructed. There is plenty of free car parking at the top and it is within an easy walk of the service building.
