Best time to hike the Paparoa Track
Best: December–March. Also good: April and November.
The Paparoa Track is 51 km long, in 3 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 644 m, the middle height of the trail (7–1,140 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15° | 11° | 160 | 15 | 14.9 |
| February | 15° | 11° | 161 | 13 | 13.8 |
| March | 14° | 11° | 177 | 16 | 12.5 |
| April | 12° | 9° | 197 | 16 | 11.0 |
| May | 11° | 8° | 242 | 19 | 9.8 |
| June | 9° | 6° | 179 | 17 | 9.1 |
| July | 8° | 5° | 225 | 19 | 9.4 |
| August | 8° | 5° | 226 | 20 | 10.4 |
| September | 9° | 6° | 184 | 18 | 11.9 |
| October | 10° | 7° | 208 | 20 | 13.3 |
| November | 12° | 8° | 185 | 16 | 14.6 |
| December | 13° | 10° | 197 | 18 | 15.2 |
Higher up it is colder: about 6 °C less for every 1,000 m of height. The highest point of the trail is 1,140 m.
Season notes from our guide
The track is open all year. Most people walk it from November to April, when days are long and the weather is milder; December to February is the busiest time, so book huts early. Hut prices are highest from 1 October to 30 April. The West Coast is very wet: rainfall in the park averages about 6,000 mm a year, and heavy rain, snow, ice, fog and strong wind can hit the exposed tops in any month. In winter, check snow and ice conditions before you go and allow extra time.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Paparoa Track guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near -42.22, 171.44, adjusted to 644 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.