Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

Milford Track · Stage 3

13kmStage distance
586mMapped ascent
3Stage number

Not confirmed open on set dates: From May to October the pass is an alpine route: unmarked, often under deep snow, with avalanche paths that can cross the track and the side-stream bridges taken out. DOC says to walk it then only with alpine skills and gear, and there are no rangers, gas or emergency radios in the huts. Source, read 27 September 2026

Over Omanui/McKinnon Pass (1,154 m): over 500 m of climb, then about 1,000 m down to Dumpling Hut. DOC's emergency track is in use on the descent past an impassable slip (alert reviewed 15 September 2026). Sutherland Falls is a 1.5-hour return side trip from Quintin Shelter; its side track is closed from 2 June to 20 October 2026 while the Quintin bridge is replaced.

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

Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

Loading topographic map…
200m400m600m800m1,000m1,200m02 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km1,131m103m
Flat (<5%) Gentle (5–10%) Moderate (10–15%) Steep (15–25%)
Green: Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.

Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

3 / 4
GPX

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 start

Mintaro 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

OpenStreetMap

Stage end · overnight

Dumpling 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

OpenStreetMap

What the operators say about this leg

  • Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut: 6 to 7 hr. Our estimate for this stage is 4 h 21. The operator's time is much longer than our estimate from distance and climb: the ground is slower than it looks. Plan on the operator's time. 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.

  1. 4.8 km
  2. 17.9 km
  3. 12.7 km
  4. 18.2 km

Weather this week

Loading the forecast for low point (96 m) and high point (1,138 m)…

Weather by month

Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (96 m) and the highest point (1,138 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.

Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
WeatherMixedMixedMixedGoodMixedMixedMixedMixedMixedMixedMixedMixed
High point, day / night16°/6°16°/6°14°/5°11°/3°7°/0°4°/-2°3°/-3°5°/-2°7°/0°9°/1°11°/3°14°/5°
Low point, day / night22°/11°22°/11°20°/10°17°/8°14°/5°11°/3°10°/3°12°/3°14°/5°16°/6°18°/8°20°/10°
Rain, mm301216236176235230207152218287281263
Snow at high point––––PossiblePossiblePossiblePossiblePossibleFrost––
Daylight15 h 1313 h 5512 h 2910 h 539 h 348 h 499 h 0510 h 1311 h 4313 h 1614 h 4415 h 33

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 pricing

Weather, 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 Track

No 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 beacons

Getting there

Connect your journey

Travel around Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut.

Directions to this start Travel from this finish

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 transport

From Sandfly Point

A 20-minute boat to Milford Sound, then buses to Te Anau or Queenstown, booked with the same operators.

Tracknet: Milford Track

Take 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.

  1. 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.
  2. Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
  3. 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 Track

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation

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