Climbing Mt Bealey is one of a few classic walks starting conveniently on the highway through Arthur’s Pass Village. The others include the popular walk up neighbouring Avalanche Peak , Mt Aicken across the valley, plus more we’ve yet to do. As for all of these walks you start with a steep ascent in beech forest, then once above the bushline there are extensive views of very scenic country, with many a rugged peak and deep valley to feast your eyes upon.
The route to Mt Bealey is unmarked above the bushline, and involves just a bit of scrambling on the final section between the low peak (1760m) and summit. It’s not the hardest walk we’ve done, and if you want to extend the effort and views you can traverse Lyell Peak to return down via Avalanche Peak, and then along the road back to your car. This is quite a big walk and there are sections with significant exposure and falls risk, so not for beginners. (We’ve not done this yet, but it’s on the list).
Track notes at the end.
Mt Bealey ascent: The Scenery









A video of the views from the summit…









Track Notes

You start on Mt Bealey Road just off the highway before you reach the village centre from the east. It’s up through beech forest on a marked track, then mostly along a ridge on tussock and a bit of scree to the low peak at 1760m. You drop down and then back up to the summit at 1836m, with just a bit of scrambling required. None of this is marked although there is an impact track you can follow some of the way. About 1100m of ascent and descent.
Pretty obvious navigation if you have a map with you and the weather is good. There’s further information if you need it on arthurspass.com.
Hi Edward, I just saw your post about climbing Mt. Bealey in Arthur’s Pass NZ. I climbed it back in 1975 with a friend. Your photos of your climb brought back a lot of memories, so thank you for that because I think I have maybe two photos from my climb and I wish I had more. Going back to NZ is on my bucket list and lucky for me I have a friend who lives there!
Hi Jim. Thanks for stopping by the blog. My photos act as a memory aid for me too. I occasionally look back over them at work just to calm the mind!