A must read first-timers guide to Mt Ruapehu, Whakapapa and Turoa

 Updated May 2024: This article is constantly updated with the latest updates from both Whakapapa and Pure Turoa as the season develops

In this article, we cover:

• The basics: Where to find the most accurate info regarding lift status, weather conditions, and access road conditions
• Mountain access roads: vehicle restrictions, chains, and condition updates
• Parking: at the top of both Whakapapa and Pure Turoa access roads, and in the Tongariro national park.
• Shuttle availability
• Ticketing and passes
• Snowplay, sledding and sightseeing
• Being prepared for the snow
• Extra tips and tricks

First time? 

If this is your first time to Mt Ruapehu, Whakapapa, or Turoa please read and become familiar with what we list out below. It will make your trip so much better!

Gone are the days of just driving to the mountain and expecting to drive up the road and park…to avoid disappointment you NEED to PLAN your visit in advance, whether you are skiing and boarding or just playing or sightseeing.

First of all CHECK the mountain conditions and weather 

• CHECK there is enough snow: Whakapapa | Pure Turoa
• CHECK the weather forecast
• CHECK the road status, - open, restricted or closed: Whakapapa | Pure Turoa
• CHECK what lifts are open. Whakapapa | Pure Turoa

Typically, each ski field updates their website at 6:30am daily, updated regularly during the day as conditions change.

We recommend Metservice.co.nz, the official NZ Govt weather agency for the most accurate weather forecast information.

Access Road Conditions:

The Bruce Road [Whakapapa Ski field] and the Ohakune Mountain Road [Pure Turoa Skifield] are the two roads that allow you to access the ski areas, each monitored by their respective ski field companies

The two ski field operators determine on a daily basis whether the road will be -

• OPEN [to all traffic]
• RESTRICTED [to 4WD vehicles or 2WD vehicles with chains, or both 4WD and 2WD vehicles with chains]
• CLOSED [to all traffic].

If the road conditions are icy or dangerous they may make it RESTRICTED in which case they will enforce the use of 4WD vehicles, or 2WD vehicles with chains, or both 4WD and 2WD vehicles with chains.

If the conditions are very severe such as blizzard, gale force winds or worsening weather is forecast, they may close the road entirely.

Restrictions and closures are particularly common during June, July & August

The only place to find out the road status [open, closed, restricted] is here:

Whakapapa Road Conditions
Pure Turoa Road Conditions

Both are updated very regularly throughout the day.

The first update is typically at 6:30am every day.

Your Vehicle:

Before leaving to the mountain, make sure you have the correct vehicle for the road conditions.

This means if the road is restricted you will need either a 4WD vehicle or have a 2WD vehicle with a set of snow chains.

Sometimes 4WD are required to use snow chains.

Check the road conditions and weather before departure. Make sure to also check the road conditions and status online periodically as they can often change/lift restrictions if weather improves or deteriorates.

Chains:

If you need snow chains you can buy them here at Snowscene – 357 Puanga St Tokaanu. Check availability first on our website www.snowscene.co.nz.

Car chains are $179, Ute and larger SUVs and wagons, and large commercial chains only $325. Don’t scramble around on the day looking for chains – they may not be available in the district.

We also stock the Isse Textile Snow Chains - a great alternative to metal chains and great for the sealed roads of Whakapapa and Turoa. They are approved by Waka Kotahi and accepted as a form of snow chains by the mountain companies.

Check them out here ISSE Snow Chains. Use the calculator to determine what size you need and come in store to purchase.

Snow chain rental – we don't hire chains and there is NO snow chain rental availability anywhere in the district – you need to plan your visit and ensure you have snow chains organized before your visit. 

Parking:

In previous seasons, car park spaces would have to be booked online prior to your arrival. 

For 2024, there is no need to book a carpark space at Mt Ruapehu

Carparking is now First in - First serve. Simply drive up to either Whakapapa or Turoa, and find yourself a car park space.

TIP: Whakpapa Ski Field's sightseeing activities are becoming very popular in the weekends, which is causing the carparks to fill up or reach capacity sometimes very early morning. Skiers and boarders - make sure you get on the road early Sat/Sun [arrive top of whakapapa or Turoa at 9am at the latest] so you at least get up the road and get a carpark. Get your gear from us the day before for no extra charge. Late night Fridays until 9pm [not October] Check our website or Google for our up to day trading hours.

More information:

• There is only limited carparking spaces at both Whakapapa and Turoa. During peak season (July School Holidays and July, Aug and Sept Weekends), these carparks may reach capacity quite early in the morning.
  
  
• From our past experiences, carparks don't tend to reach capacity in June or during the week days (excl July school holidays). October also does not tend to reach capacity
  
  
• To avoid missing out on a carpark, we recommend aiming to arrive at the top of Whakapapa or Turoa by 9am - 10am (the earlier the better)
  
  
• If the carparks reach capacity, a one car in - one car out system will be implemented. Alternatively, you can use a shuttle to get to the top of the mountain. Read our full list of shuttle operators here
  
  

Parking around Tongariro National Park

There is no shuttle service available from Whakapapa Village [where the Chateau Tongariro is] to the skifield.

The only all-day parking for Whakapapa Skifield [if all parking spaces are occupied] is at National Park Village PARK n RIDE carpark a further 15km away from the skifield.

The only all-day parking for the Pure Turoa Skifield [if all parking spaces are occupied] is downtown Ohakune in a unmetered zone/spot.

If carparks do reach capacity, you can continue to queue at the base of the mountain. They will implement a one car out, one car in policy. Alternatively, you can turn around, book and take a mountain shuttle to the top of the mountain.

There is no day parking available at Whakapapa Village [where the Chateau Tongariro is]. You will be fined for leaving your car in the parking spaces for longer than 3 hours. This area is administered by The Department of Conservation [DOC] so would pay to not flout these rules.

Shuttle and bus options:

Both ski field operators do not run their own shuttle service.

There are a range of private shuttle operators that operate ski field shuttles from the National Park Village PARK n RIDE carpark – Click here for options. Most charge around $30 - 40 pp return.

Shuttles will be at very peak demand during weekends and school holidays. If you do require a shuttle, we recommend booking this as early as possible that morning, or even the night before.

The National Park Village "Park n Ride" facility is a public carpark alternative to parking up on the mountain. It is on the corner of Findlay St and Station Road at National Park Village [next to the Railway Station]. and most private shuttles operate from here. Most shuttles to Pure Turoa will have a pickup location in downtown Ohakune. Some will also pickup from the Park n Ride.

For a complete list of all bookable shuttles, please read our shuttles article

TICKETING and PASSES:

The best and quickest option is to buy your mountain pass online:

Whakapapa Ski field Tickets
Pure Turoa Tickets

Once you have purchased your pass you will get an email confirmation via email. Embedded in the email will be a QR code. Once you get to the base area of the ski field you go to any one of the self-service kiosks, scan your QR code, and your plastic card pass will be produced from the machine. You use this card pass to then use the lifts for the rest of the day. Keep this card for future use...you can top it up online at anytime and just go straight to the lifts.

For more information regarding passes, which pass to buy, and how to get the best value for money - please read our in-depth ski field guides: 

Whakapapa Information Guide
Pure Turoa Information Guide

SNOW PLAY and SLEDDING:

Mt Ruapehu is but one part of the Tongariro National Park and so you are able to play in the snow anywhere away from the skifield and ski runs – you can play and sled around the carparks or non ski areas. Anywhere you can find a slope or hill go for it – lots of family fun.

We have sleds here at Snowscene for this purpose for only $10. Pop in and grab a couple before heading up.

Both ski fields have a dedicated sledding area and equip with lifts allowing you to loop their sled areas without walking back to the top. Both fields sledding tickets are around $30 - $40 per person, per hour. See here for Whakapapa's prices and Pure Turoa's prices

2025 UPDATE:
Both Whakapapa and Pure Turoa offer great sledding facilities. They can be in high demand at times, and tickets need to be brought online. We recommend buying these in advance or as early as possible to avoid missing out.

UPDATE 3 OCT 2024: due to lack of snow around the carparks and the base area, there are no places to use our sleds [or your own sleds] at the moment and probably for the rest of the season. SEE YA IN 2025!

Extra info

• You cannot take our rental sleds/your own sled to the Happy Valley sledding area.
• The public are not allowed on the Happy Valley ski runs for play or sightseeing.
• You cannot take our rental sleds/your own sleds on the Sky Waka Gondola.
  
  

SIGHTSEEING:

Sightseeing and exploring on either ski field is all ok so long as you are not on any of the dedicated ski runs or lifts. It is a National Park and the public are allowed to explore and sightsee at most places.

A must-do is the Sky Waka Gondola which takes you to NZ's highest restaurant. It is about a 10min trip one way. Once at the top you can take in the views and/or have lunch or a snack in one of two eateries. Highly recommended. See more about Whakapapa sightseeing here

Pure Turoa also offer a sightseeing package, where you can take a chairlift to a high altitude and cafe. See more about Turoa sightseeing here

You cannot take a sled on the gondola or chairlift so you will need to take it back to your car.

Being prepared for the snow:

Remember, you are on a mountain and it is 1600m above sea level at the base area. NZ weather conditions can change very quickly from a beautiful bluebird day to closed in and windy conditions within a few hours. BE PREPARED.

Layers is the key. Warm undergarments to start, then say a shirt, jersey, and jacket. Extras include scarf, beanie and gloves. Good walking or snow boots are a must…nothing worse than wet feet after playing in the snow.

Eye protection is essential – make sure you have good quality glasses or goggles and always use sunscreen – the UV rays are harsh – they reflect off the snow and can cause skin damage where you least expect it.

It can also get quite warm some days, especially from September onwards.

Being prepared is the key.

Snowscene has a great range of rental clothing and boots – perfect for your sightseeing or playing trip to the mountain.

Pick up your clothing, boots, and sleds before heading up, so you are warm and cozy as soon as you get out the car into the mountain air. 

TIPS and TRICKS:

Saturdays are always overcrowded! Why not plan for a Sunday trip? It seems everyone wants to go up to Mt Ruapehu on a Saturday for reasons unknown! Sunday is always less crowded and a better snow experience.

Even better – do your skiing, boarding and sightseeing etc midweek. Much less crowds AND lift passes are cheaper! You still need to be prepared for adverse road conditions, but it can be much less stressful.

And so to summarise…

• PLAN – your trip…at least a few days in advance
• CHECK – weather, snow conditions/level, road conditions – practice this a few days before your trip, so you get a feel for the conditions and the restrictions required
• DECIDE – 4WD or snow chains [buy chains if required, or we can hold a set for you on request]. If the weather has been good for a few days then the road could well be OPEN to ALL traffic in which case you don't need chains or 4WD. CHECK the road status regularly.
• BOOK – shuttle/transportation if needed.
• RENT / HIRE – ski gear, snowboard gear, clothing, helmets, goggles, gloves, walk boots, sleds - Snowscene has the best prices and excellent service. We are open 7.30am - 6.00pm 7 days a week during July, August and September [with a 9pm late night on Fridays]. Our October hours may differ - always check our up to date houses on our website or Google 
• PAY – for skiing / boarding, sightseeing, sledding.

Most of all -ENJOY our beautiful Tongariro National Park!