Stage start
Glade Wharf
Trailhead · 213 m
The start, at the head of Lake Te Anau: reached only by the boat from Te Anau Downs, 1 hour 15 minutes. There is no road; book the bus and boat before you go.
Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut
Milford Track · Stage 1
4.8kmStage distance
68mMapped ascent
1Stage number
The boat from Te Anau Downs lands at Glade Wharf; an easy 5 km to Clinton Hut, where every walker spends the first night.
Best season: 1 November to 30 April (the Great Walks season). The Department of Conservation's 2026/27 Great Walks season runs from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 (last departure 28 April): the huts have rangers, gas and heating, and every night must be booked. Avalanche risk can last into December, and heavy rain can make the Clinton and Arthur valleys impassable; DOC may then hold walkers in a hut or fly them past the hazard at its cost, and walkers may be eligible for a refund. From May to October the track is an alpine route for experienced parties only: DOC does not manage its hazards then, and its pages differ on whether huts must be booked. Before you go
Loading topographic map…
Flat (<5%)
Green: Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.
Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut
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Where this stage starts and ends
Facts read from the operators' own pages and OpenStreetMap on 27 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with the hut before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage end · overnight
Clinton Hut
Staffed mountain hut · Department of Conservation
- Season
- 2026/27 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 The 2026/27 Great Walks season, with a ranger, gas cooking, heating and flush toilets: the three huts are booked in order, one night each. Outside the season: From May to October there is no ranger, gas, indoor water or emergency radio, and the track is an alpine route. DOC's pages differ on booking then: the track's winter advice says bookings are still required at a reduced cost, its booking section says first come, first served at $30 adult. Check with DOC when you plan. doc.govt.nz, read 27 September 2026
- Places
- 40 places in total · Self-catering In the Great Walks season: 40 bunks with mattresses, a ranger, heating and gas cooking (no utensils), solar lighting, flush toilets and cold water (no showers). Boil the tap water.
- Booking
- Book online Book on DOC's Great Walks booking: the three huts in order, one night each. Great Walks season: adult NZ$152 (international), NZ$106 (NZ resident), child $76 / $53; May to October $30 adult, $15 child.
- Contact
- Official site
What the operators say about this leg
- Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut: 1 to 1 hr 30 min. Our estimate for this stage is 1 h 07. doc.govt.nz, read 27 September 2026
Make it your trip
Book the three huts
In the Great Walks season you book the three huts in order, one night each, on DOC's booking system: walkers without a booking may be charged a penalty or turned away. No camping anywhere on the track. Book the bus and boat to Glade Wharf and from Sandfly Point too: there is no road at either end.
Glade Wharf to Sandfly Point
The only way DOC allows it: four days, a night at each hut in order.
- 4.8 km
- 17.9 km
- 12.7 km
- 18.2 km
Weather this week
Loading the forecast for on the trail (220 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this stage, around 203–237 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Good | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Day / night | 21°/10° | 21°/10° | 19°/9° | 16°/7° | 13°/4° | 9°/2° | 9°/1° | 11°/2° | 13°/4° | 15°/5° | 17°/7° | 19°/9° |
| Rain, mm | 353 | 187 | 221 | 159 | 184 | 157 | 132 | 141 | 278 | 289 | 260 | 294 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | Frost | Frost | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 15 h 14 | 13 h 56 | 12 h 29 | 10 h 53 | 9 h 33 | 8 h 48 | 9 h 04 | 10 h 12 | 11 h 43 | 13 h 16 | 14 h 45 | 15 h 34 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Prepare for the Milford Track
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Prices and the NZ rate
Each hut night in the Great Walks season costs an international adult NZ$152 and a New Zealand resident NZ$106 (children $76 / $53). The resident rate needs proof: a claim found invalid costs the difference plus $50 a person. From May to October a hut night is $30; DOC's pages differ on whether it must be booked then.
DOC: Great Walks pricingWeather, floods and avalanches
Rainfall reaches 9,000 mm a year and both valleys can become impassable. Over 57 avalanche paths can bring debris to the valley floor, some of them across the track, and the risk can last into December. In the season DOC can close the track and hold walkers in a hut or fly them past the hazard at its cost; walkers may be eligible for a refund.
DOC: Milford TrackNo signal: carry a beacon
There is no phone coverage. Carry a distress beacon (PLB); the hut rangers have radios for emergencies in the season. For search and rescue call 111.
DOC: distress beaconsGetting there
Connect your journey
Travel around Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
To Glade Wharf
From Te Anau, a bus or car to Te Anau Downs (30 minutes, on State Highway 94), then the boat to Glade Wharf (1 hour 15 minutes). DOC lists Cheeky Kiwi, Easyhike, Fiordland Outdoors Company and Tracknet for transport; book before you go.
DOC: Milford Track transportFrom Sandfly Point
A 20-minute boat to Milford Sound, then buses to Te Anau or Queenstown, booked with the same operators.
Tracknet: Milford TrackTake your trip with you
Offline maps
Prepare every day while you still have a connection: there is no phone signal on the track.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
- Open this trail in the app. Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
- Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
- Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
About this map
The Department of Conservation gives 53.5 km, walked from Glade Wharf to Sandfly Point in four days: the track can only be walked in that direction, over three nights. The line here is the track's relation on OpenStreetMap (planet of 21 September 2026), 53.6 km, cut at DOC's three huts; the times are DOC's.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 27 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Department of Conservation: Milford TrackMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation