Coronet Peak's summer season a success

Coronet Peak is getting ready to wrap up its third successful summer season this weekend.

Despite the complications Covid brought, the 2021/22 season has seen an increase in visitors and mountain bikers.

Coronet Peak Ski Area Manager Nigel Kerr has been thrilled with the growing interest in the mountain’s summer offerings.

“Summer at the Peak is about being a recreational hub for all users. This summer our five-day-a-week model worked really well for us as we were able to reach into all areas of the community” Kerr says.

Upper Rude Rock trail, built by the team at Dirttec, opened this season which proved to be very popular and added to the range of trail types available. The trail links in with the infamous Rude Rock trail allowing riders one massive 1200m trip to the valley floor – understood to be the longest single track decent in the country.

The new shuttle bus service running from Station Road on the hour was greatly received by the public and also helped to reduce parking congestion at the bottom of Hot Rod trail.

Coronet Peak’s jam-packed events calendar was impacted by Covid later in the season, but many mountain biking events were still able to go ahead.

Some of the highlights included Coro 1200, held with the Queenstown Mountain Biking Club, the National’s Downhill round and most recently the Otago/Southland Mountain Biking Schools Championships which saw great representation from around the region. 

A lot of resource went into trail maintenance this year, which has been well received by riders, Kerr says.

“It’s been another great season and we’re always looking for ways to improve and bring new things to the table. We’ve got big plans for next year and we’ll just keep getting better and better.”

Coronet Peak’s winter season kicks off on June 17 and this year will celebrate its 75th anniversary as New Zealand’s first commercial ski field. 

The 2021/22 season closes April 3, 2022 and the 2022/23 summer season will open on December 10, 2022.