Springfield is a town of about 330 with a concrete Simpsons doughnut and the last fuel pump before Porters Pass. Porters and four club fields sit up the road from it, and only Porters rents a full package on the hill, so collect skis, chains and a tow belt before you leave the plains.
Where do you rent skis for the Craigieburn club fields?
In Christchurch or Springfield. Broken River, Craigieburn and Mt Olympus have no ski rental, and Mt Cheeseman's rental department stayed closed in winter 2026. Gnomes in Christchurch hires an adult package from $49 with pickup after 2pm the day before, and Smylies in Springfield rents mainly to its shuttle and stay guests, and to others who call ahead. Porters is the one field with a full rental shop, at $72 a day.
Where do climbers and mountain bikers go around Castle Hill in summer?
Boulder the limestone at Kura Tāwhiti or Flock Hill on a crash pad from Smylies or Porters Lodge, wade through Cave Stream, or ride the 24 km Craigieburn Trail from Flock Hill to Castle Hill. Porters Lodge reopened for summer on 30 October 2026 with free flow trails and hardtails to hire from $20 an hour.
Pick it up on the plains
Porters runs the only full rental shop on these mountains, and Temple Basin keeps a small stock at the top of its walk. For Cheeseman, Broken River, Craigieburn and Olympus you load skis in Christchurch or Springfield, plus something to grip a rope tow.
| Shop | Adult ski kit, 1 day | Snowboard kit, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Porters Alpine Resort rentals
Base area, 6 km up the Porters access road
|
$72 | $72 | Ski and board packages, Black Crows demo skis, helmets, tuning from a $25 hot wax | Book online → |
Temple Basin
At the lodges, a walk up from the Arthur's Pass summit
|
Ask in store | A small selection of skis, boots, snowboards and poles | Contact before you go | |
| Shop | Adult ski kit, 1 day | Snowboard kit, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Smylies Tours and Accommodation
Smylies Accommodation, Springfield
|
Price shown when you book | Skis, boards, boots, and at least 30 nutcracker sets with harnesses | Book with a stay or shuttle → | |
| Shop | Adult ski kit, 1 day | Snowboard kit, 1 day | Hires | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gnomes
The Works, 400 Waterloo Road, Islington
Collect after 2pm the day before
|
$49 | $49 | Standard to touring skis, boards, clothing, car and 4WD chains, avalanche kits, rope tow packs | Book online → |
NZD, from the Porters and Gnomes rate pages for the 2026 winter. Smylies only sells hire bundled with a bed or a shuttle seat. A night's stay with ski or board hire cost an adult $167 in 2026.
When the tows stop, climbers and riders take over the basin. The limestone tors of Kura Tāwhiti sit right beside the highway, and the Craigieburn Trail strings singletrack together with short stretches of ski field road.
Kura Tāwhiti has Tōpuni status for Ngāi Tahu, who ask climbers to respect it. Stay on the access track, brush off chalk ticks, and don't stash pads at the rocks.
15 Edelrid pads, plus shoes, chalk bags and brushes, by the day only. The desk opened 8 to 10am and 5 to 8pm in autumn 2026, so check its page for summer hours. Bring ID and a card for the deposit, and don't phone; only guests can reserve.
How it works →Three pads at the lodge, 15 minutes from the rocks. Email to hold one for the day, or ask when you arrive; they keep your ID or card until you're back.
Reserve a pad →A DOC conservation area about 80 minutes from Christchurch. The access track follows a line of pines from the big car park, and the paddocks either side are private.
DOC page →Park at the gravel pull-off 1 km north of Parapet Rock, never the farm gate, then cross the stile and walk about 40 minutes inside the fence. Flock Hill closes for lambing until 25 December, and Prebble Hill and Gorge Hill from 10 October to 30 November.
Access and closures →Hogs Back, Sidle 73, Dracophyllum Flat and Coal Pit Spur, joined by short bits of ski field road, from Flock Hill to Castle Hill. Mostly intermediate, built by the Castle Hill Community Association.
Track status →2.3 km of berms and rollers from the lodge gate with 120 m of climbing, and a jump line below. Hardtails at the lodge cost $20 an hour or $69 a day, helmet included.
Trails and bike hire →An hour underground through 594 m of cave, finishing on a ladder and chain above a 3 m waterfall. Head torch, warm layers and settled weather only. Families can walk the loop to the lookouts instead.
DOC page →A steep climb of more than 400 steps through mountain beech at Arthur's Pass to the 131 m falls. Wardens Creek has no bridge and can flood in heavy rain.
DOC page →The one Arthur's Pass summit with a poled route, 3 to 4 hours up to 1,833 m from behind the visitor center. People have died on it, so turn back in cloud or high wind.
DOC page →Bike and hiking trails across a 40,000 ha high-country station about 50 km from Arthur's Pass, with e-bikes provided, plus a lodge and backcountry huts.
Their website →Christchurch, Springfield or the hill
Renting at Porters means nothing to strap to the roof. Anywhere else, you turn up with skis, boots and a way to hang on to a fast rope.
No road reaches this field on the Main Divide. You leave the car at the summit of the pass, send your bags up on the goods lift and climb 400 m on foot up a rocky track.
From Castle Hill to Arthur's Pass Village
Road distance left to the village. The Temple Basin car park is at the summit beyond it.
Springfield sits 65 km out of Christchurch on the Great Alpine Highway. Most of the fields quote about 90 minutes from Christchurch, and Temple Basin is 2 hours 20 minutes plus the walk.
Porters return trips ran Friday to Sunday in 2026 and every day from 4 to 19 July, leaving the Christchurch Bus Exchange at 7:15am and Springfield at 8:30am. One-way transfers to the club fields ran Friday to Sunday.
Every field tells you to carry them, and Broken River says so even for four-wheel drives. Craigieburn wants chains in every vehicle, every time.
Porters: 6 km of gravel that isn't steep. Broken River and Craigieburn: 6 km each, with no campervans. Mt Olympus: proper 4WD with clearance, and phone reception drops out halfway up.
East West Coaches runs between Christchurch and Greymouth every day, stopping at Springfield, Castle Hill, Flock Hill and Arthur's Pass. The driver can drop you at the foot of Broken River Road, but the 6 km up is yours to sort out. Timetable →
Springfield is the train's last stop before the mountains. On the summer timetable it leaves Christchurch at 8:15am and pulls into Arthur's Pass at 10:40am, 150 m from the DOC visitor center.
At the club field car parks the kea chew rubber off parked cars. Never feed them, and bring something to cover what you can.
Snowpool and the Ski the Clubbies Ride Share group on Facebook match drivers with spare seats. Snow Express runs private door-to-door transfers to Porters.
Porters is the commercial field, with a quad chair, groomed runs and snowmaking since 1991. Clubs run the rest, and Broken River's founders cut their road with picks and shovels in 1951.
678 m of vertical from a 1,310 m base across 285 ha. Half the terrain is rated advanced, with named areas like McNulty's Basin, Julian's Bowl and the Aorangi Chutes. An afternoon pass from 12:30pm costs $114.
Two T-bars and a learners' rope tow from a base at 1,540 m, with groomed intermediate runs and steeper off-piste. You drop your gear at the Daylodge, 20 m from the lifts. After three hard winters it opened Thursday to Sunday in 2026.
From the Hanomag car park the club-built Tyndall Tramway takes four minutes to haul you 320 m up to the lodges. Above it, three fast rope tows cover 175 ha, mostly ungroomed, and Friday night skiing costs $50. There are no half-day passes.
Three rope tows, 500 m of lift vertical and not a groomer anywhere. CV caters only to intermediate and advanced skiers and asks first-timers to be confident on chairlift blue runs. In 2026 it rested on Mondays and Tuesdays unless it snowed big.
Reached from SH77 by Lake Coleridge, not SH73. Four rope tows run up a south-facing basin that collects about 4.5 m of snow a year, with a hot tub and the Far Canal Bar at the lodge. Carry a transceiver, shovel and probe to hike beyond the tows.
A chairlift, groomed runs, lessons and a full rental shop.
T-bars and an easy learners' tow, but no rental or ski school in 2026.
The tram saves the uphill slog, and the club runs two learner tows as well as the fast ropes.
Ungroomed steeps, built for skiers who already ride blues with ease.
A 4WD-only road with no phone signal on the upper half.
Gentle tows at the bottom, once you've walked up to them.
Scored out of 5 for someone new to gravel roads and rope tows. Our view.
Porters runs the ski school. The clubs teach off-piste and avalanche skills, and three operators handle the driving.
In 2026 an adult beginner package with a group lesson, beginner lift and rental cost $199, Ski Play for ages 3 to 5 cost $119, and a Late Owl private from 3pm cost $155.
Their website →Off-piste, avalanche and telemark courses at the club field, with beds in three on-mountain lodges.
Their website →Snow safety and avalanche courses based at Temple Basin, the institute's home field.
Their website →4WD shuttles to Porters and the club fields from Christchurch and Springfield, plus hostel, motel and cottage beds. Transport-only bookings carry a two-passenger minimum from 2026.
Their website →Private door-to-door winter transfers to Porters, Mt Hutt and Mt Lyford, locally owned since 2024.
Their website →A licensed shuttle for up to four out of Arthur's Pass Village, running trampers and Coast to Coast competitors to trailheads and relocating their vehicles. Bookings by email.
In winter the club lodges feed you on the hill. Down on SH73 the kitchens are spread out, from the Sheffield pie shop to the store at Arthur's Pass, and Smylies only cooks dinner if you've booked.
A canteen with pizza, pies, burritos and BR's own lager, plus a communal barbecue, oven and toasted sandwich makers for your own food.
Coffee and fire-top toasties at what CV calls possibly New Zealand's highest cafe. The Thirsty Kea Bar opens after 3pm, boots on.
The lodge bar does lunches and sells glove protectors.
Licensed, with barista coffee, beer and wine. Packed lunches stay out of the cafe and off the patio.
Pies at $8.70 to $9.30 from a local fixture of more than 40 years, 9.7 km short of Springfield. The eastbound East West coach stops in Sheffield too.
Japanese and Kiwi dishes cooked by Keiko with produce from the garden. Breakfast from $20; book ahead.
Burgers, kids' meals, draft beer and cocktails on the access road, open to non-guests. Summer hours Wednesday 2 to 8pm and Thursday to Sunday noon to 8pm.
The Mountain Breakfast ($23.50), pies and burgers, with kea on the terrace. Open daily 8am to 4:30pm, and it sells the only fuel for almost an hour each way.
300 m from the visitor center: burgers, burritos and seafood baskets until 7pm, and a 2 to 4pm happy hour.
An 1865 hotel 14 km over the pass at Otira, with a bar, tearooms and pub dinners.
The field cafes and bars open in winter only. The Bealey Hotel, 12 km short of Arthur's Pass Village, is shut for refurbishment until about mid November 2026.
Learned on the gravel
Gravel roads, nutcracker tows and kea in the car park catch out most newcomers to the Craigieburn Range.
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FAQ
Answers checked October 2026. Prices and rules change each season, so confirm with the operator before you go.
Contact UsA standard adult package is $49 a day at Gnomes in Christchurch and $72 at the Porters shop, so loading up in town saves $23. Child packages are $39 at Gnomes (ages 5 to 16) and $58 at Porters, and Gnomes' performance, demo and touring skis run $69, $79 and $89. Porters comes out ahead on a half day at $47, and you can swap Black Crows demo skis there during the day at no charge.
Photos: Mattinbgn (CC BY 3.0), Merav Benaia (CC BY 2.0), Steve Bennett (CC BY-SA 3.0), Maelgwn (Public domain), Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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