Otago, New ZealandOtagoIsthmus Peak Track · OtagoEndStart5 kmN ↑

Sawyer Burn Track other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)

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NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0) · OpenStreetMap · Official page · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).

7-day forecast

Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)

Best time to hike

Best months: Nov–Mar · highs 11–15 °C (52–59 °F)

  1. J15°7°134
  2. F15°7°96
  3. M12°5°146
  4. A9°3°118
  5. M5°0°133
  6. J2°-3°147
  7. J0°-4°122
  8. A2°-3°136
  9. S4°-1°144
  10. O7°0°160
  11. N11°3°140
  12. D13°5°176

Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.

How we pick months

Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.

About this trail

The Sawyer Burn Track climbs through the forest to the bushline and has superb views of Lake Hāwea and the surrounding mountains.

NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).

Trail facts

Length
2.9 km · 1.8 mi (DOC route geometry)
Source
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0)
Difficulty
Hard (7/10) (Advanced · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0))
Typical time (DOC)
1-2 hr to the bushline, 5 hr return to Sawyer Burn
Official page
doc.govt.nz/link/9599205c40334ef0a90c308aa7a
Mountain range
Young Range (Main Divide of The Southern Alps › Southern Alps; GMBA)
Nearest town
21 km N of Lake Hawea (Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago) · GeoNames
Best months
Nov–Mar
Country
New Zealand
Region
Otago
Continent
Oceania
Route centre
-44.4229, 169.2574
How it’s scored

Hard (7/10). Official rating: Advanced · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0).

A score is omitted when we do not have an official rating or enough measured length and elevation gain to compute one. Nothing is guessed. Read the NPS method: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/how-to-determine-hiking-difficulty.htm

Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.

More trails in the Young Range

All 5 →

Nearest trails

distance from the trail centre

All trails in Otago → · All 1,167 trails in New Zealand →