The Milford Track is the most well-known and internationally famous walk in New Zealand, with the DOC huts getting booked out within hours of the registration opening for the Great Walk season. It is an epic 4-day tramp through stunning scenery, covering a distance of 53.5 km in the remote Fiordland National Park. I did the walk in December 2024 and loved it. Despite the costliness of doing the walk, it still has my solid recommendation.
The track elevation, difficulty, and distance
The best place to get the latest information about the Milford Track is from the DOC website or the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre in Te Anau. The DOC website provides detailed information, including what to expect day-to-day on the track, a brochure, and a track elevation profile.
Here’s an overview & my actual time taken for the track as an independent walker:
| Day | Route | Distance | Climb/ Descent | Time taken |
| Day 1 | Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut | 5 km | Climb: 14m Decent: 12m | 1h 10min |
| Day 2 | Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut | 19km | Climb: 421m Descent: 13m | 5h 15min |
| Day 3 | Mintaro Hut – Mackinnon Pass Shelter – Quintin Shelter – Dumpling Hut | 13km | Climb: 709m Descent: 1201m | 6h [2h 20min – 2h 40min – 1h] |
| Day 3 side trip | Quintin Shelter to Sutherland Falls (and back) | 4.6km | Climb: 145m Descent: 145m | 1h 30min |
| Day 4 | Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point | 18.6km | Climb: 66m Descent: 123m | 4h 50min |
Guided or Independent?
There are two ways to do the Milford Track: as an independent walker staying in the Department of Conservation (DOC) huts or as a guided walker with Ultimate Hikes staying in private lodges. The Milford Track is well-marked and signposted to the extent that I’d say it’s almost impossible to get lost on the track. I’d say the driving reason for choosing the guided walker experience will be the other luxuries that the package offers. Simply put, the guided walk package with Ultimate Hikes is the luxurious and fuss-free way of doing the Milford Track.
Milford Track Guided walker
The guided experience includes having an experienced guide looking out for you, all meals and snacks on track, accommodation in the lodges, transport ex Queenstown/Te Anau, as well as a scenic cruise on Milford Sound the morning after the track to end the trip on a high note. The lodge boasts 3-course dinners, pre-dinner snacks, washing and drying facilities, hot showers, towels, and power to charge devices. Sound basic? Basic in the city, maybe, but very luxurious on a tramp! Since guided walkers stay in Milford Sound on the last day of the track, it also takes the pressure off having to rush for the shuttle transfer out of Milford Sound.
This fuss-free experience does come at a costly price tag, though, and you’d have to be prepared to fork out NZD$ 2,829 for a multishare room. The rooms get sold out fast for the peak period in December and January, so you’d have to be quick for these ones too!
Milford Track Independent walker
So, what does the experience look like for an independent walker? Unfortunately, there are no cheap ways around it if you intend to walk the Milford Track during the Great Walk season, which runs from roughly October to the end of April.
Accomodation
Camping is not allowed on the Milford Track, and you are permitted to walk in only one direction, over 3 nights and 4 days. This makes the hut fees for 3 nights a mandatory expense. For the 2025/2026 season, the hut fees on the Milford Track are $106/night. Each hut had 40 bunk beds available for booking during the season, which gets booked out almost every single day. All the bunks are single bunks, which I greatly prefer over the open bunk arrangements.
During the Great Walk season, all huts on the Milford Track have flushing toilets, lighting, and gas stoves. There was also a hut warden in each hut who provided an informative hut talk in the evening. Do not expect any showers at the huts. However, all three huts do have a swimming spot available, a short walk away from the hut.
For the first night, you will be staying at the Clinton Hut. The highlight for me was the glowworm spot near the hut. Whilst I’ve seen glowworms before, it was fun searching for them.
The second night will be at the beautiful Mintaro Hut. The new Mintaro hut opened in 2021 after the old one was damaged in a storm in 2020, and the decision was made to resite and rebuild the hut due to rockfall risks at the old site. Costing a whooping NZD$3 million, it is an extra precious hut to be in and take care of.
I felt like I was in a resort at the Mintaro hut with the bright lighting, spaciousness, huge windows, and lovely scenery outside. The toilet was less impressive with it’s metal gates, but the Mintaro hut was still one of my favourite huts. There are even USB charging ports! And a place to spot whio (blue ducks), a short walk away from the hut. What more could you ask for? (a warm shower & drying room maybe? ha ha ha)
The last night will be spent at the Dumpling Hut. Here, the toilets, kitchen/dining room, and bedrooms are all in separate blocks, a short walk away from each other. This means that if it were raining, going between the bedroom and the kitchen/dining room was not the most pleasant. Otherwise, this hut is situated in a scenic location as well, and there were a group of kakas around! There was also a cosy lounge/drying area beside the dining room.
Water Transport
The starting point of the Milford Track is at Glade Wharf, and the ending point is at Sandfly Point. Both of these locations are accessible by water transport, which costs between $129 (early bird discount) and $149. There are two water transport operators — RealNZ and Fiordland Outdoors, with some differences between them:
| Operator | RealNZ | Fiordland Outdoors |
| Cost | $149 | $145 |
| Outward from Te Anau Downs | 10.30am & 2pm | 11.30am & 2pm |
| Return from Sandfly Point | 12 pm – 4.30pm | 12 pm – 4.30 pm |
| Clientele | Independent multiday walkers, Ultimate Hikes guided walkers, Trips & Tramps guided day walkers | Independent multiday walkers, independent day walkers |
| Drop-off point in Milford Sound | Milford Sound Boat Terminal | Deepwater Basin |
Land Transport
Most walkers either opt for transport packages departing from Queenstown or Te Anau, or self-drive to Te Anau Downs. The land transport ex Queenstown or Te Anau and connecting to the water taxi departures are provided by either Tracknet or Cheeky Kiwi.
For walkers returning to Queenstown, they must catch the 2.30 pm departure from Milford Sound, whereas walkers returning to Te Anau / Te Anau Downs may take either the 2.30 pm or the 5 pm shuttle. The 5 pm shuttle is provided by Tracknet only, and they are also the only operator providing single journey transfers to Te Anau Downs.
Whichever option, rest assured that there are various streamlined transport packages to cater to your needs as the operators work together to ensure you are not left behind (hopefully).
Alternative option via Dore Pass
The Dore Pass route from the Milford Road to Glade House is an alternative way to connect to the Milford Track. It is 11 km, takes an estimated 8 hours, and is classified as an Expert route by DOC. This will bypass the need to take a water taxi to the start of the Milford Track and potentially offer a fine view of the Clinton Valley. I was not aware of this option when I decided to do the Milford Track, but this would be an option I’d seriously consider, especially during the summer when there are more daylight hours.
Here is what the itinerary will look like for this option:
- Drive or get a ride to Dore Pass Car Park. The Dore Pass route begins from the Milford Road, a busy road in the summer months. Since the Milford Road is the only road connecting to Milford Sound, a popular tourist attraction, it should be easy to hitchhike or arrange a shuttle. Tracknet provides shuttle service between Milford Sound and Te Anau, the nearest town, and has departures from Te Anau to Milford Sound at 7.15 am, 9.50 am, and 1.25 pm in summer. These are priced at NZD$ 71. Do check with them regarding dropping off at the Dore Pass carpark.
- Walk the Dore Pass Route to Glade House. This route is 11 km with a vertical climb by DEM of 1088m and a vertical descent by DEM of 1247m.
- Connect to the Milford Track and continue towards Clinton Hut.
- Walk the Milford Track over the next 3 days to end at Sandfly Point
- Take the Fiordland Outdoors water taxi from Sandfly Point to Deepwater Basin anytime between 12 to 4.30 pm
- Take the 2.30 pm or 5 pm shuttle from Milford Sound to the Dore Pass Car Park (if your car is parked there), or to Te Anau, the nearest town.
Do note that the Dore Pass Route is not recommended for inexperienced or ill-equipped trampers, and the route can be prone to flooding, avalanche, and may require excellent navigation skills. The Sandfly Point to Milford Sound single journey water taxi transport option is only provided by Fiordland Outdoors. This is, however, not directly bookable via their website and interested parties should contact them via email/phone instead.
Cost breakdown
| Costs ex QT | Costs ex Te Anau Downs | Costs ex Milford via Dore Pass | |
| Accomodation: 3 nights in DOC huts | $318.00 | $318.00 | $318.00 |
| Transport package ex Queenstown | $345.00 | ||
| Water taxi – Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf – Sandfly Point to Milford Sound | $145.00 | ||
| Water taxi – Sandfly Point to Milford Sound | $50.00 | ||
| Shuttle from Milford Sound to Te Anau Downs | $70.00 | ||
| Shuttle from Milford Sound to Dore Pass Carpark | $65.00 | ||
| NZD | $663.00 | $533.00 | $433.00 |
What to pack
Check out my post for a sample summer tramping packing list! Just note that you won’t need any stove or fuel during the Great Walk season since these are available in the huts.
My experience
Will write about my experience on the track in another post!
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