Mountain Preparation
Why Ski Cardrona
Discover Cardrona, New Zealand's favourite ski resort. Nestled in the heart of the Southern Alps between Queenstown and Wānaka.
Here at Cardrona, everyone’s a VIP – whether you’re a first-time skier or snowboarder, here on a Queenstown ski holiday with your family, or if you’re training for the Olympics or the X Games! No matter who you are, you’ll be welcomed here with genuine Kiwi hospitality. You’ll soon find that our place becomes your place – your mountain, part of our ever-growing Cardrona whānau.
Cardrona sits conveniently between Queenstown and Wānaka in the heart of the Southern Alps, with breath-taking, Instagram-worthy views from all around the mountain.
We typically open for Winter early to mid June and close mid October depending on snow coverage and conditions. Keep an eye on our snow report for confirmed opening dates.
Terrain & Snow:
Cardrona has three wide, open basins with some of New Zealand’s most progressive terrain – every member of the family will have a favourite trail up here! We’re sitting high; our altitude makes for some of NZ’s best snow conditions, and we look after it with an innovative snowmaking and snow management system. This makes for one of the country’s most reliable seasons – you can book your NZ ski holiday to Cardrona with confidence!
Learning to ski & snowboard
Learning to ski or snowboard is made easy at Cardrona, with:
New Zealand’s only gondola cabin-style lift on a ski area, the McDougall’s Express Chondola, to make the next step easy for the whole family.
A dedicated Beginners’ Area with two conveyor lifts, one of them with a see-through “gallery” tunnel to keep you dry and warm!
A spot for Under 5s to learn with their very own Kindy Conveyor.
Wide, open green trails – room to learn!
We’re pretty biased, but we reckon our Snow Sports School instructors are the coolest...
Private and group lessons for all ages and levels.
Kids:
Here at Cardrona, we’re passionate about passing on our love for our maunga to the next generation, so we’ve got programmes, lessons & facilities for our littlest snow addicts.
We know that if your kids are happy, you’re happy. You can drop the teeny tots (3months-5yrs) off at Ski Kindy, or the older kids (5-14yrs) at Kids’ Club for the day – we look after them, teach them to ski or snowboard, even feed them(!), so you can ski stoked in the knowledge that they’re sorted.
Our dedicated kids’ Snow Sports School instructors are all about helping your kids to have that “I did it!” moment. There’s nothing better than that grin… they’re hooked!
Terrain Parks:
If shredding the Southern Hemisphere’s most extensive terrain park and halfpipe facilities is more your jam, then you’re gonna have a blast at Cardrona. We’ve got four terrain parks for every level, two halfpipes (including NZ’s only World Cup 22ft Superpipe), a gravity-X course and a world-renowned big air jump.
We know leaving the ground isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s pretty cool to see NZ and the world’s best skiers and snowboarders throwing down as you ride up the McDougall’s Chondola or Whitestar Express – you may even end up on the lift with your heroes!
Facilities:
There is so much to explore at Cardrona on your winter holiday, and we’ve got all the facilities you need to make your time on the slopes even sweeter:
Eight distinctly different cafés, restaurants and bars (including evening dining and a mountain-top champagne bar).
Snow Sports School including Adaptive lessons and Kids’ Club.
Fully licensed Childcare Centre and Under 5s ski lessons at Ski Kindy.
Full ski and snowboard rental services including workshop facilities.
We can’t wait to see you skiing and riding at Cardrona this winter – we know that you’re going to leave with a smile, ready to do it all again soon!
