West Coast · New Zealand
Haast Pass
SH 6Haast to Makarora
Lowest road crossing of the Southern Alps, rainforest to lakes.
State Highway 6 climbs from the rainforest fringe at Haast township, threading the Haast River gorge up to the 562 m saddle of Haast Pass, the lowest of the three road passes over the Southern Alps, before dropping through the Makarora valley toward Wanaka. Along the way it passes the thundering Gates of Haast, where the river forces through a narrow fault, plus the easy waterfall walks to Thunder Creek Falls and Fantail Falls and the glacial Blue Pools near Makarora. The route is fully sealed and gently graded yet genuinely remote, with long stretches of no mobile reception. Mind the one-lane bridge at the Gates of Haast, frequent rockfall and slip closures near Clarke Bluff, and slick, shaded curves after rain.
Scenery
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Where it runs48.6 mi · point to point
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Character
Corners
busiest around mile 7Elevation
approximateunder 4%4–8%over 8%11.2 – 577.7 mFrom the road
Points of interest2 stops
- Davis FlatViewpoint39 mi in
- Haast PassViewpoint37 mi in
Hazards
- One-lane Gates of Haast bridge
- Rockfall and slip closures
- Limited mobile reception
- Slippery shaded curves after rain
See the typical season and live conditions for the high passes ›
Sources
“The journey offers a variable landscape of rainforest, wetlands, lakes, glacier-fed rivers, and white water rapids.”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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