The Jacks Point Track runs along the foreshore of Lake Wakatipu between Kelvin Heights and Jacks Point, providing views of the areas most impressive mountain peaks including the aptly named Remarkables, and Cecil Peak on the opposite side of the lake.
It snowed on the last day of our trip to Queenstown in late Autumn 2017, and so we took advantage of this relative novelty by doing the Jacks Point Track, which starts just behind the house where we stay. This walk provides excellent views over the remarkable Remarkables, as well as Lake Wakatipu, and various mountains on the other side of the lake, the most prominent of which is Cecil Peak.
The featured image of the Remarkables was from our first day of the trip when we went for a quick stroll as the sun went down. It’s a well formed track, and if you do the circuit at the Jacks Point end it’ll take roughly 3 hours. You could even stop at the Jacks Point golf course club house for fancy pants food. Track notes at the end.
Jacks Point Track: The Scenery
Lake Wakatipu and Cecil Peak from the house where we stay in Kelvin Heights, near the start of the track. Walking towards a snowy Jacks Point. Cecils Peak (centre) and Bayonet Peak (left). Looking over towards a cloudy Queenstown. Walking towards the golf course and housing estate. Sophia tried to make a quick snowman but was too ambitious, and in trying to lift its oversized head onto the body she fell on top of it. Jacks Point Golf course under snow. This is more snow than usually falls at low elevations. The impressive Remarkables completely obscured by cloud unfortunately. Sun going down on the Remarkables. Viewed from the Kelvin Heights end of the Jacks Point Track. Taken on the first day of our trip well before snow came.
A few photos from winter 2016 when you could see a bit more of the surrounding area…
A headless Remarkables Range. The Remarkables looking moody. They are totally in-your-face in real life, and my photos thus far haven’t really captured that unfortunately. I may be a little obsessed with them. I’ll take some more photos this coming summer (2018/19) with my new camera. (And in fact I took some in winter 2019, which I’ve posted below). A somewhat bendy panorama of Lake Wakatipu, with Cecil Peak and Bayonet Peaks behind.
An interesting web. Lots of rocks down by the shore of Lake Wakatipu with various patterns in them. I kind of wanted to be a geologist when I was younger. Just a phase I went through, like how others experiment with drugs and stuff. I took a lot of photos of rocks.
And now some photos from winter 2019, featuring the Remarkables a lot.
Near the start of the track, looking past a house towards Lake Wakatipu. A huge storm uprooted more than half of the pine trees in Jardine Park, at the start of the track. Jacks Point stretching out to the right, and the Remarkables behind. Looking towards the Remarkables. Sophia feeling good to be out and about it seems. Sophia standing on some rocks that provide good views over the Remarkables. Roughly at the high point of the track. The Jacks Point housing estate backed by the Remarkables. A panorama of the Remarkables. Sophia backed by the Remarkables.
Track Notes
On an obvious track the whole way. You’ll probably be joined by mountain bike riders. Shortly after a rocky outcrop near the summit you’ll come across a hazchem hut – join the gravel road here and follow this until a left turn takes you back to the track along the lake.
Here’s a link to DOC info on the walk. If you follow the main track from Poplar Drive in Kelvin Heights you will walk along the foreshore of Lake Wakatipu almost all the way to Jacks Point, but note a track branching off to the left as you approach the point, because you can return back down that as part of a circuit. The track eventually climbs away from the lake for full-frontal views of the Remarkables, and then you can easily follow some vehicular tracks in an anti-clockwise direction and descend back down to the track for the return walk to Kelvin Heights. It’s all very open so you won’t get lost. It’s not a hard walk but there are steep sections.
