Milford Track

The most famous Great Walk and the most tightly controlled: 53.5 km in one direction only, over three nights and four days, with booked huts each night and no camping allowed. Both ends are reached by boat, from Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf and from Sandfly Point to Milford Sound, so the trip is a set of bookings before it is a walk. Day three is the big one, climbing over 500 m to Omanui/McKinnon Pass and dropping 1000 m to Dumpling Hut. The season runs from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027, avalanche risk can last into December, and it is not recommended for children under 10. Choose it for Fiordland's valleys, not because it is the default.