The red tarns are a less known walk in the Mt. Cook area of New Zealand’s South island. This short walk has big rewards with amazing views.
I have now been to the Mt. Cook area a handful of times. Each time I try to explore a bit more of the area and find some tracks that are not as popular as the incredible Hooker Valley walk. This last time we spent a couple of hours one morning walking up to the Red Tarns. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was super pleased that we checked it out.
Red Tarns Walk Overview
Highlights – small tarns, fewer people than other areas, amazing views of the Hooker valley, Mt. Cook, and the entire surrounding area.
Location – Trailhead is at a public shelter in the Mt. Cook Village (on the Mt. Cook village loop road near Governors bush).
Length of walk – 2 hours round trip, 2 km one way.
Difficulty – Easy to moderate (only moderate because it does climb steeply for a short time).
The Red Tarns Walk
This is a short walk to another amazing viewpoint of the Mt. Cook valley and Mt. Cook itself.
My partner and I took this walk early one morning and were able to get up and back pretty quickly. Wow! The views are absolutely worth the climb up.
We were super lucky and only saw two other people the entire time on this short walk. It was nice to be in this incredible area full of tourists and find a trail that let us escape the constant people and relax in nature.
From the shelter the trail begins following a foot path along the edge of the bush. It crosses a small stream that flows down from the mountains on a cool bridge and then the climb begins.
This trail goes up steps for about 30 minutes and then voila, you are at the top near the tarns. This hike is kind of like the Sealy Tarns hike, only shorter, but with similar views.
The hike to red tarns ends at a small plateau where the red tarns sit. There is a short loop track that takes you past the tarns, where if the day is calm you can get some amazing photos of the surrounding mountains reflected in the tarns.
My Insider Tips
For those of you who are feeling strong you can continue up from the red tarns to the Sebastopol ridge overlooking them. There is not an easy trail, but you can see a path where people have wandered up the scree towards a ridge overlooking the area.
From the tarns the route goes up and towards the left. It’s another 250 meters or so up from the tarns with more fantastic views.