Around the Mountains Cycle Trail: 186 km in Southland
The Around the Mountains Cycle Trail is a named Ngā Haerenga Great Ride in Southland. The governing figure used here is 186 km (nzcycletrail.com · Around the Mountains), not a straight line between towns.
Typical time on the route is 3 to 4 days. Grade: Grade 3 · intermediate. Season window: October to April.
The ride is usually done Queenstown → Walter Peak (steamer or bike) → Mavora Lakes → Mossburn → Lumsden → Kingston, then the Kingston Flyer corridor back toward Queenstown. The Von and Mavora sections are remote gravel with no shops.
The itinerary on this page is the published stop sequence: Queenstown, Walter Peak, Mossburn, Kingston. Cabins and holiday homes load live around each stop; hut and trailhead pins without a town page still search by radius.
Book DOC huts and Great Walks on the DOC system where that applies. Town beds are what this site lists. Carry the day’s food on remote legs — several of these routes have no shop between ends.
Stop by stop
Queenstown — start, steamer to Walter Peak. Walter Peak — high-country station, southern shore of Wakatipu. Mossburn — the Southland night, deer-farm country. Kingston — lakehead finish before the climb back.
Distances, grades and seasons above follow nzcycletrail.com · Around the Mountains. Confirm opening dates, slips and hut bookings on the operator or DOC page before you travel; alpine and West Coast tracks close or reroute after weather.
