Road tripping State Highway 94, the road to Milford Sound
Because Milford Sound is as much about the journey as the destination
Milford Sound, that wild and beautiful place at the end of State Highway 94, presided over by the pyramid spire of Mitre Peak. It’s a powerful lure, drawing many thousands of visitors along the Milford Road every year.
But, as many of those visitors come to realise, it’s the journey along the Milford Road itself that is just as adventurous, just as beautiful, as the pot of photographic gold at the end of the highway.
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A few key things to note
WHY DRIVE? | Driving to Milford Sound offers the flexibility to pick and choose your scenic stops, and to select an early cruise – the tour buses from Queenstown and Te Anau arrive in a wave from 1pm onwards, so boarding sooner (ideally the first cruise of the day, around 9am) means avoiding the worst of the crowds.
WHERE TO START FROM | I recommend setting off for Milford Sound from Te Anau, rather than Queenstown, which halves the driving time (trying to get from Queenstown to Milford and back in a day, while also seeing sights on the drive, is a very big ask. More than 8 hours of driving. If you don’t have time in your itinerary to make it to Te Anau, book a coach and cruise tour, or fly and cruise tour, instead).
Even when leaving from Te Anau, you should beware that this is a four hour round trip – two hours each way – in a very remote area.
Where to stay in Te Anau
Fiordland Lakeview Motel and Apartments
This family owned motel has a prime location by the lake, spacious and clean rooms, and great sustainability credentials – opt not to have your room serviced, and the motel will donate $10 towards native tree planting.
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Dunluce Boutique B&B
On the fringe of town, Dunluce has four guest bedrooms with lake and mountain views. Host Hannah cooks an impressive breakfast, and the garden patio is a peaceful spot to relax.
GO PREPARED | Make sure you top up your petrol tank in Te Anau – there is a petrol station in Milford Sound but it is tiny, and therefore expensive and unreliable. Get snacks and food in Te Anau as well (my preferred spot is the Milford Road Merchant), as there are only a handful of very limited options for food at the ferry terminal in Milford.
AVOIDING THE CROWDS | When driving the Milford Road, bear in mind that for such a narrow, remote highway, it gets a lot of traffic – as many as 4,500 people travel the road each day in summer.
The road experiences a surge in traffic from 10am-12pm, as tour buses and visitors mostly aim to get on cruises between 12.30 and 2pm. The same flood of people tends to leave Milford between 3.45pm and 5.45pm.
Traffic means some vehicles attempting dodgy overtaking manoeuvres, and potential delays. Expect to have to wait at the one-way Homer Tunnel, especially in summer.
If you can travel outside of those times, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding congestion on the road, at stops on the way, and in the parking lots at Milford Sound. Set off early and beeline for Milford Sound, making scenic stops on the way back, or leave later.
THE ROAD ITSELF | Although it’s narrow in places, and has many a bend in it, the road is in good condition for such a remote area. Take it slow, let traffic pass, and you shouldn’t have any issues navigating it.
A note on parking in Milford Sound
Self driving also means managing parking. There are two parking areas in Milford Sound. The main parking area, by the visitor centre, costs $10 per hour before 3pm, and $5 an hour after 3pm. Pay for at least three hours. Boat cruises usually run for only two hours, but you’ll need to factor in check in time and toilet stops; you don’t want to be stung with automatic fines for overstaying.
You can find a free carpark at Deepwater Basin, but it’s first come first served, and often fills up quickly. It’s a 30 minute walk to the ferry terminal from this carpark, via a pedestrian trail through native bush.
Regardless of where you choose to park, allow an hour to find a park, pay, and get to the ferry terminal on time.
Where to stop on the Milford Road
Milford Road Merchant
COFFEE | WOMAN OWNED | LOCALLY OWNED
Conveniently located on the road out of Te Anau, Milford Road Merchant is your last chance for a good coffee and a snack before two hours of driving through the wilderness. Note there are no toilets there – stop by the public toilets in town (about 500 metres back towards the centre of Te Anau) before you make your coffee pit stop.
⏱️ 10 mins
On a clear, calm day, Te Anau Downs has pretty, mirror-like views of Lake Te Anau.
⏱️5 mins
Driving into Fiordland National Park, there is a beautiful moment where it feels like you have been swallowed by the ancient forest. The road is narrow and the trees reach across the space above, almost touching most of the time.
So you’ll notice when you reach Eglinton Valley and suddenly there is space all around you, the road shooting a straight line through golden grass.
A glacier once shouldered through here, bulldozing the deep, flat -floored valley. The openness of the valley makes it a good place to stop and stare up at the mountains.
This is another of the most popular stops along the Milford Road (brace for the sight of tour buses disgorging crowds of people to pose for photos), but there are a string of easy stopping places, and most people only stop briefly before moving on.
⏱️ 5 mins
These small tarns are right by the road and in clear weather offer reflections of the mountains. Their easy accessibility means almost every vehicle – car, minibus, giant tour bus – stops here.
The wooden walkway is busy. Expect to shuffle along in a slow procession.
If that doesn’t appeal, go early, skip this stop altogether or plan to stop by on the way back to Te Anau when the wave of traffic heading into Milford Sound has passed.
⏱️10 mins
Knobs Flat
FACILITIES
Stop at Knobs Flat for the last flushing toilets before you reach the ferry terminal at Milford Sound (there are other toilets in between, but of the long drop variety).
⏱️5 mins
Lake Gunn Nature Walk
📍Cascade Creek, Milford Sound Road
SHORT WALK
A gentle, flat loop track through beautiful forest, with magnificent beech trees and mosses casting everything in a hue of emerald green. Although there are no big reveals on this walk – no summit views, or mirror-like lakes – this is still a thoroughly enjoyable place to stop and stretch your legs on the road to Milford Sound.
Unlike the Mirror Lakes walk, which is inundated with visitors on the tour buses heading to Milford, this trail is blissfully quiet.
It’s a great place to see some of Fiordland’s birdlife. Keep an eye out for inquisitive grey South Island robins, and the small black and white miromiro/tomtits. At around 45 minutes return, it’s perhaps better for your return journey or a day when you aren’t aiming to meet a cruise at a set time.
⏱️45 mins
If the weather is clear, Key Summit is easily the best half day walk in Fiordland. The views from the top are panoramic (but, Fiordland is not known for clear days). The track is the very tail end of the Routeburn track, so it’s very well graded and easy underfoot.
Keep an eye out for the impressive tree fuschia (and occasional kaka feeding on them) at the start of the track.
The trail climbs steadily to reach the view point, around one hour up, then loops around past alpine tarns and bogs.
One thing to note is that the carpark from where the Key Summit track starts – known as The Divide – has mobile reception, which is scarce or non-existent for long stretches along the Milford Road.
⏱️3.5 hours
Hollyford Valley Lookout
PHOTO STOP
A pretty spot to pull over and look down the Hollyford Valley. Nothing less nothing more.
⏱️ 5 mins
Lake Marian Falls
Lake Marian Falls is a short (20 minute) and easy walk to a boardwalk and viewing platform above the rapids (the falls in question are a cascading series of small waterfalls, rather than one large one).
The track as far as the viewing platform is well-maintained and only a gentle incline, with opportunities to appreciate the stunningly mossy forest.
⏱️25 mins return
Lake Marian
It’s a 3 hour return hike to Lake Marian, a similar length to Key Summit but a more difficult hike.
The track climbs over slippery rocks and through gullies. It’s physically demanding. The view from the top makes it worthwhile, though; Lake Marian is a beauty, a deep green expanse cradled by rock cliffs.
This is a good option if it’s too cloudy to appreciate Key Summit, as the lake is still beautiful even if you can see the very tops of the mountains.
⏱️3.5 hours return
Hidden Falls
If you have more time, and want to get away from the busyness of the Milford Road, heading down the gravel Hollyford Road is a real opportunity for adventure. Most of the people who turn off down this gravel road are headed for the Humboldt Falls, which you can see from a viewing platform reached via a 30 minute return walk from the carpark at the end of the road. A longer, but much more interesting option, is to walk the first section of the Hollyford Track, out to Hidden Falls. The track is mostly flat and easy walking, with sections skirting right alongside the bright blue Hollyford River. Hidden Falls itself is impressive – I say that as someone spoiled by the number of waterfalls in New Zealand. I walked this track in fine winter weather and found it to be even more beautiful than expected.
⏱️ 4-6 hours return
The carpark for the Gertrude Saddle Route also makes for a scenic photo stop. There are often kea hanging around the carpark, and if you wander a little way along the track you can see the strikingly blue creek that flows past here.
⏱️5 minutes
Gertrude Valley Route
This steep, challenging, and dangerous hike has claimed multiple lives. It’s not to be taken lightly. When I walked this track in early December, there were many creek crossings as the track criss crossed the valley floor, and ice was still lingering in the higher altitude areas.
Only take this walk on if you have the appropriate clothing (with warm and waterproof layers), fitness (to handle a 6 hour demanding walk), and weather window (only attempt in clear weather). It’s also not a good one if you don’t have a head for heights, as the track skirts along very steep cliff faces.
On the right day, the walk is superb, with views of Milford Sound and the massive expanse of Fiordland. It is probably too challenging to fit in this hike and a cruise on the same day – this is best tackled as a day hike from Te Anau.
⏱️ 6 hours return
The Homer Tunnel
POINT OF INTEREST
The one-way Homer Tunnel (controlled by traffic lights) punches a sloping path 1200 metres (0.75 miles) straight through the solid rock of the Darran Mountains. While the tunnel can be a sticking point along the Milford Road – expect to wait for 10 or so minutes before the light turns green – it’s a feat of engineering.
Work began in 1935, when five men took up picks and shovels and began chipping away at the granite. The tunnel wasn’t opened until 18 years later, in 1953.
1855 Lookout
PHOTO STOP | WATERFALLS
Emerging from the Homer Tunnel, the road starts a series of looping, elaborate switchbacks in a final descent to Milford Sound.
Pull over at this lookout point to stare back at the sheer cliffs through which you just drove. This spectacular cliff wall is at its best in the rain, when waterfalls appear like so many misty white ropes against the rock.
⏱️ 5 minutes
Thank you for reading
All words (and typos and other errors) are my own, based on my own travels.
During my time on the road, I’ve found many wonderful places — galleries, restaurants, viewpoints and more. I’m sure you’ll find others. If there’s somewhere you think I should know about, contact me at hello@petrinadarrah.com, so I can share with other travellers in future work.
If you’re disappointed with one of my recommendations, I’d love to know that too; places change, or close, so I appreciate updated information.
Thank you for supporting my work – you being here lets me keep doing what I love to do, which is explore New Zealand and share it with others. So a heartfelt thanks for reading.
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
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