New Zealand's Winter Weather Guide

The ski season runs from early June through to mid-October (ski field opening dates vary depending on snowfall), with the best time of year for skiing generally falling in late July through to the end of August.

Some great spring skiing can be had in September, as well as the occasional spring powder dump!

If you're planning to head over for a ski holiday, you will most likely be heading to one of two main ski-regions: Queenstown Lakes, or Canterbury. Canterbury is home to Mt Hutt Ski Field as well as many club fields with incredible terrain. Queenstown Lakes is home to the Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Cardrona & Treble Cone.

The average maximum and minimum temperatures in winter for the main ski regions are as follows.
Remember to take these with a grain of salt, because if there is one thing that is certain in New Zealand, it's that the weather is not!

Average monthly max/min temperatures (degrees Celsius)

	June	July	August	September	October
Queenstown	15/-5	14/-6	15/-5	20/-3	22/-1
Wanaka	16/-5	15/-4	15/-4	20/-2	22/-1
Methven/Canterbury	18/-2	15/-3	17/-3	22/-1	22/0

When dressing for a New Zealand winter, layers are your best option. It can quite often be very cold in the morning before warming up considerably once the sun comes out. Be sure to bring a good, thick coat (down or wool jackets are the best) to keep the cold out on those frosty mornings. Always wear thermals under your clothing too!

Categories:
- Essential Info

Why Ski New Zealand?

Simple - Because every visitor to New Zealand deserves the very best experience.

At Ski New Zealand we know that simply selling you one of our Ski Packages isn't enough to ensure a great experience.

That’s why we take the time to prepare our suggestions to include the things we know our guests want and will enjoy. Almost 90% of the SKI NZ packages we create and book are tailor-made for our guests. We take the time to consult with you, learn about your group’s abilities, the kind of place you enjoy staying in, how you want to travel up and down the mountain and of course how you want to feel about your Ski Holiday. By this we mean some people want to be completely exhausted and exhilarated at the end of each day, some want to take it easy, enjoy a few runs and then a coffee or a wine. Everyone is different.
Our team of New Zealand specialists are based in Wanaka which if you didn’t already know is probably the best location to be in if you enjoy winter snow sports. Nearly everyone here enjoys skiing or snowboarding, some to extreme levels and others enjoy a more relaxed and family approach to the slopes. This means we have people who with real-life, real-time experience located right in the heart of New Zealand’s ski area. The advice they give comes with true local knowledge.

So if you want to explore Coronet Peak or the Remarkables in Queenstown, Cardrona, Snow farm or Treble Cone in Wanaka, Roundhill & Mt. Dobson in Tekapo or Mt. Hutt near Christchurch then talk to the team at Ski New Zealand before you book your next winter holiday.