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Rocky Mountain Summit Track – Diamond Lake New Zealand
The Rocky Mountain Summit Track is a scenic hiking trail in the Diamond Lake and Hospital Flat Nature Reserve (Otago). A short but worthwhile mountain peak overlooking the beautiful lakes surrounding Wanaka. Is a particular trail parking lot full and you want to avoid the crowds and still get on the trails? The Rocky Mountain Summit Track is a great alternative to the crowded Roy's Peak Track with similarly spectacular views without the crowds. alt=“LAKE WANAKA LOOKOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIAMOND LAKES”> alt=“ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT TRACK WANAKA”> alt=“ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT HIKING TRAIL”> About the Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake Trails There are two primary hiking trails in the...
Rocky Mountain Summit Track – Diamond Lake New Zealand
The Rocky Mountain Summit Track is a scenic hiking trail in the Diamond Lake and Hospital Flat Nature Reserve (Otago). A short but worthwhile mountain peak overlooking the beautiful lakes surrounding Wanaka.
Is a particular trail parking lot full and you want to avoid the crowds and still get on the trails? The Rocky Mountain Summit Track is a great alternative to the crowded Roy's Peak Track with similarly spectacular views without the crowds.
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- alt=“ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT TRACK WANAKA“>
- alt=“ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMIT WANDERWEG“>
Via the Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake trails
There are two primary hiking trails in the Diamond Lake Conservation Area. However, at Diamond Lake Lookout they merge into a single, longer trail.
Below are the return times from the DOC website. If you are fit and hike regularly, you can expect to cut these walking times almost in half.
This is how you get to the starting point
All Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake trails start from a large parking lot in the Diamond Lake Conservation Area, just 20 minutes from Wanaka.
To get here, take the scenic Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road towards Treble Cone Ski Field. On the way you pass the Roy’s Peak car park.
Rocky Mountain Summit Track GPX map
Below is the GPX route I recorded with my Garmin GPS watch. You can download the file by clicking the link below.
GPX file: Download
My Strava: Visit
What to Expect on the Rocky Mountain Summit Track
The Rocky Mountain Summit trail begins with a gentle climb at the edge of Diamond Lake. The path soon turns into a steeper section with wooden steps.
These steps lead to Diamond Lake Lookout.
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Diamond Lake Lookout
This viewpoint offers a great view of the lake and the mountain range opposite. At this height you can also see the edge of Lake Wanaka in the distance.
From here the path climbs gently to Lake Wanaka Lookout.
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Lake Wanaka Viewpoint
The higher you climb on this route, the better the views become. Lake Wanaka Lookout is no exception. The views of Lake Wanaka are spectacular and provide great photo opportunities.
However, if you're planning on hiking to the top of the Rocky Mountains, you don't need to make the detour to Lake Wanaka Lookout as it's essentially the same view, only better.
Instead, if you have the time and energy, I would highly recommend continuing on to Rocky Mountain Summit, which is realistically only an additional 30 minutes from the Lake Wanaka Lookout signpost.
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Klook.com
Rocky Mountain summit view
Once you reach a small flat section below Rocky Mountain, you have the choice of taking two trails up. These two tracks form a loop back to the summit.
I would recommend taking the left path for the climb as it makes for a more relaxing and scenic climb.
After just 100 additional meters of elevation gain, you will be rewarded with views of the summit of Rocky Mountain. In my opinion this is one of the most underrated viewpoints near Wanaka, with unobstructed views of the Southern Alps, Mount Aspiring and Wanaka Lake.
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MORE THINGS AROUND WANAKA AND THE SOUTH ISLAND
I hope you found this guide to hiking the Rocky Mountain Summit and Diamond Lake tracks helpful. If you have any questions or updated route information, please help fellow travelers by leaving a comment below.
For now, why not check out the following list for more epic things to do around Wanaka and New Zealand's South Island, or check out this post for the 31 best hikes in the South Island.
MY CAMERA AND PHOTO EQUIPMENT
- Spiegellose Kamera: Canon R5
- Drohne: DJI Mavic Pro 2
- 360-Grad-Action-Kamera: Insta360 One X2
- Landschaftsobjektiv: Canon RF 15-35 mm f/2.8L
- Allround-Objektiv: Canon RF 24–105 mm f/4L
- Teleobjektiv: Canon RF 100–500 mm f/f/4,5–7,1 L
- Lange Aktionsstange: Insta360 Invisible Pole (BulletTime)
- Landschaftslinsenfilter: Hoya Circular Polarizer
- Kamerarucksack: F-Stop Tilopa
- Lieblingsfotozubehör: Peak Design Capture Clip
For a list of my recommended photography gear (including what I use and why), check out my Travel Camera Gear Guide.
If you would like to use any of the photos on this website, please visit my licensing page to find out how. I also sell professional art prints, visit my Print Store or contact me directly for customs deductions of images on We Seek Travel.
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