Best time to hike the Queen Charlotte Track
Best: March–April and October–November. Also good: May, September and December–February.
The Queen Charlotte Track is 69 km long, in 4 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 176 m, the middle height of the trail (5–475 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 | 18° | 15° | 51 | 8 | 14.8 |
| February | 18° | 15° | 80 | 8 | 13.7 |
| March | 17° | 14° | 72 | 10 | 12.5 |
| April | 16° | 13° | 88 | 10 | 11.0 |
| May | 14° | 12° | 104 | 12 | 9.9 |
| June | 12° | 10° | 95 | 14 | 9.2 |
| July | 11° | 9° | 117 | 15 | 9.5 |
| August | 11° | 9° | 109 | 15 | 10.5 |
| September | 12° | 9° | 89 | 14 | 11.9 |
| October | 13° | 10° | 74 | 12 | 13.3 |
| November | 15° | 12° | 81 | 12 | 14.5 |
| December | 17° | 14° | 86 | 11 | 15.1 |
Season notes from our guide
The track is open all year. December to February is warm, busy and best for swimming: book early. Mountain bikes are banned from Ship Cove to Kenepuru Saddle from 1 December to 28 February, so the first two days are quieter for walkers. March to May and October to November are often the nicest: settled weather, fewer people and lower prices, though wasps are common in late summer and autumn. In winter (June to August) the days are short and the clay is slippery, and some lodges close for the season, so check before you book.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Queen Charlotte 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 -41.17, 174.15, adjusted to 176 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.