A nice half day walk up through Mount Hutt Forest on the Scotts Saddle Track to above the treeline. There are views of the Canterbury Plains and peaks in the Pudding Hill Range to the west, and Mount Hutt Range further north, including South Peak (2081m). The forest is varied and attractive, and may be the highlight for some walkers, although the views are good for relatively little effort. We returned back along the Ridge Track and Opuke Track for a bit of variation – worth it I think.
The walk is at the easier end of moderate because it will take only a half day, but there are a few steep and rough sections. Track notes at the end. If you were looking for a route up Mt Hutt you could climb through the ski field from here, but I’ve climbed Mt Hutt (north peak) from Terrible Gully over Steepface Hill – see that post here.
Scotts Saddle Track: The Scenery
Track Notes
The route is on a marked track the whole way. There are some steep and occasionally rough sections but mostly straightforward. We took the Ridge Track and then Opuka Track down for a bit of variety and I think this was worth it. It’ll take about half a day. We also visited a couple of viewpoints on indistinct impact tracks but you get good enough views from the main track.
The walk starts in Awa Awa Reserve, however you could also walk it from the top on the ski field road. There ‘s more info if you need it on the DOC website.
