Sugar Loaf Circuit
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 12.61 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,402 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Experts only
- Elevation loss
- 3,402 ft
- Max elevation
- 3,777 ft
- TrailRank
- 31
- Min elevation
- 1,192 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 4 hours 48 minutes
- Time
- 7 hours 46 minutes
- Coordinates
- 3583
- Uploaded
- February 11, 2024
- Recorded
- February 2024
near Paradise, Otago (New Zealand)
Viewed 15 times, downloaded 0 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
CAUTION
LAKE SYLVAN BRIDGE WASHED AWAY
Start at Routeburn, take a right to the Sugarloaf Pass. Keep following until Rockburn and take another right until Lake Sylvan track. Follow until main road until back at start.
Advice:
1) go clockwise, do the hilly bit first
2) take trekking poles, especially if it has rained, the track is slippery and at times very steep. Some bits are boggy
3) wear high shoes which are waterproof to your ankles
First bit is steep uphill. Past the treeline it's not easy to see the track because it's overgrown with tussacks and it's boggy so take care not to step into a deep puddle. Going down is as steep as going up. Once on the Rockburn track the path continues as it was, going up and down but mainly down. The river is a nice lunch spot, after that it's through beech forest for the remainder of the trip. From midway the lake the track becomes a proper gravel track. The footbridge at the Lake Sylvan trailhead has been washed away so you'll have to ford the stream, do this only if you are experienced and feel confident about the height of the water. Do not take unnecessary risks!
From start to finish it's a beautiful tramp, but it's not for the faint of heart ;-)
LAKE SYLVAN BRIDGE WASHED AWAY
Start at Routeburn, take a right to the Sugarloaf Pass. Keep following until Rockburn and take another right until Lake Sylvan track. Follow until main road until back at start.
Advice:
1) go clockwise, do the hilly bit first
2) take trekking poles, especially if it has rained, the track is slippery and at times very steep. Some bits are boggy
3) wear high shoes which are waterproof to your ankles
First bit is steep uphill. Past the treeline it's not easy to see the track because it's overgrown with tussacks and it's boggy so take care not to step into a deep puddle. Going down is as steep as going up. Once on the Rockburn track the path continues as it was, going up and down but mainly down. The river is a nice lunch spot, after that it's through beech forest for the remainder of the trip. From midway the lake the track becomes a proper gravel track. The footbridge at the Lake Sylvan trailhead has been washed away so you'll have to ford the stream, do this only if you are experienced and feel confident about the height of the water. Do not take unnecessary risks!
From start to finish it's a beautiful tramp, but it's not for the faint of heart ;-)
Waypoints
River
1,563 ft
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