Chances are if you’ve been thinking about doing any hiking in Wanaka, you’ve heard of both these trails.
Although Isthmus Peak is not well known on the scale of Roys Peak, it’s no longer what you’d call a ‘hidden gem’. With fairly similar distance and elevation gain, the hikes are both pretty full on endeavours, so most people will only choose one.
That’s where we come in. We did both hikes, so whether you only have time for one hike or you’re not keen on the hype and popularity of Roy’s Peak and are wondering if there is an alternative that is just as good or better, we have you covered in this guide.
Here are our thoughts on Roys Peak vs Isthmus Peak.
Roys Peak vs Isthmus Peak
We’ve tried to create an overall comparison based on what is important to us when we hike, looking at multiple factors such as scenery, difficulty and how busy the trail is. If you have more time, we highly recommend you reading our individual guides to each hike, as they are more in-depth. However, this should give you a good overview as to which you might prefer.
The scenery
Let’s start with the most important factor for most people and that’s the scenery. Is Roy’s Peak really so much more beautiful that it deserves all the fame?
The answer to that is no. Not that it isn’t extremely beautiful, but it’s not more beautiful than Isthmus Peak. The scenery on both hikes is world class, and in fact Isthmus Peak actually has a little more variety to it as you see both Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, as opposed to ‘just’ Lake Wanaka on Roys Peak.
The lookout at Roys Peak
The views from the Roys Peak Trail
Both have extraordinary mountain vistas, as well as plenty of quintessential farmland complete with hundreds of playful sheep.
You are not going to be disappointed with the scenery on either hike, and that’s a guarantee. However scenery and photo opportunities are different, so if you’re all about the photos then read on.
The summit of Isthmus Peak
The trail and views of Lake Hawea
Winner: Draw
The photo ops
If you’re a landscape photographer, make sure your memory card is empty because you are going to be spoilt with hundreds of wonderful photo ops on both trails.
However, if you’re a lover of the Instagrammy style photo with a small person in a big landscape, there is no spot on the Isthmus Peak Track that can match that Roys Peak viewpoint. There just isn’t.
That viewpoint at Roys Peak
That grassy knoll that juts out towards the lake, surrounded by mountains is really special and that’s why it’s become so famous.
Isthmus Peak has scenery just as jaw-dropping, but there are also lots of fences surrounding many points on the track which doesn’t allow for as easy photography ops that include people - and there is no one spot that is quite the same as the Roys Peak viewpoint even if it weren’t for the fencing.
One of the best views from Isthmus Peak
That’s not to say you won’t get some beautiful pics on Isthmus Peak, but the money shot is Roys Peak, and preferably at sunrise.
Winner: Roys Peak
Which track is harder?
In terms of difficulty, it slightly depends on whether you are just planning to go to the Roys Peak viewpoint or the summit.
If you’re going to the summit (1.5km beyond the viewpoint) then Roys Peak is slightly harder with a little more elevation gain and a slightly longer track.
Near the top of Roys Peak
If you’re only going to the viewpoint then Isthmus Peak will be slightly harder, but in honesty it’s much of a muchness. They are both fairly long steep hikes which are predominantly straight up and straight down jobs.
Isthmus Peak is a little less steep, but not noticeably enough to make difficulty a major factor in your decision.
Hardest trail: Roys Peak (just)
The crowd factor
Now this is an easy one. The crowds are far worse on Roys Peak than Isthmus Peak. If you’re hiking in winter then you won’t find Roys Peak overly crowded, but you won’t get it to yourself.
We hiked Roys Peak for sunrise in winter on a seriously cold day (-10C) and we saw six other people on the hike up. When we came down it was a steady stream of people coming up.
Walking down from Roys Peak
Every time we drove past the Roys Peak car park it was relatively busy at all times of day.
We hiked Isthmus Peak for sunset and never saw another soul for the entire duration of the hike and given we spent a long time up on the peak watching the sunset, we were on the trail for around six hours!
In summer I am sure you would see people, but it’s not going to be on the scale of Roys Peak. If you love getting spots to yourself or close to, it has to be Isthmus Peak.
The views from the top of Isthmus Peak
Winner: Isthmus Peak
The track conditions
Both Roys Peak and Isthmus Peak have similar trails in the sense they are both more like a 4WD track for much of the way. They are generally wide and easy trails apart from if they get muddy.
As we hiked in winter the trails began under frost and ice which then melted, which would be similar to hiking after heavy rain. The tracks can then get very churned up by other walkers.
The views from Roys Peak
Of course on Isthmus Peak there were no other walkers so it was all good, however on Roys Peak it got pretty nasty. Much of the mud is like clay and it is easily the most slippery trail I’ve ever walked on.
Going up on frost and ice was easy and not slippery at all, but coming down I fell fully over once and Joe three times. It was like walking on banana skins and a pretty horrible experience.
I was covered from foot to waist in mud which drew a lot of anxious stares from people climbing up the peak!
If you’re walking in dry conditions you’re going to have no problems at all, but in wet or frosty conditions my advice would be to get down before the masses come up, it’s the churning that’s the real issue with the mud.
Winner: Isthmus Peak
The best time of day: sunrise/sunset to do the hikes
If you’re keen on photography or just love seeing viewpoints at the most beautiful times of day it’s worth noting that Roys Peak is best at sunrise, and Isthmus Peak sunset. Although as Isthmus Peak has views in both directions you could also do sunrise here.
If you head up to Roys Peak for sunset the view is in shadow, which is ok, but no comparison to sunrise when the mountains and lake are illuminated. It really is special.
Trail closures
This isn’t so much about which is better, but it’s worth knowing that both trails close for a period of time due to lambing (Roys Peak) and fawning (Isthmus Peak). These closures might dictate which trail you have to pick so it’s lucky both are great!
Roys Peak closes between 1 October - 10 November each year and Isthmus Peak between 20 November and 20 December. Luckily the dates don’t overlap so you’ll always be able to hike one of the tracks.
So which is better?
As you can probably already tell, we loved both tracks. They both offer some of the best views we’ve ever seen on any trail. It’s hard to pick between them because we got very lucky with the lack of people at Roys Peak, as almost everyone who hiked up at the same time as us went to the summit for sunrise, we got the viewpoint to ourselves for most of the time, which was magic.
Were it crowded and we had to queue for a photograph as is almost always the case, then I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much. With Isthmus Peak we saw cloud inversions and a wonderful sunset and also got it to ourselves, which was just extraordinary.
I would say that the Roys Peak viewpoint is my favourite part of either trail, but that I liked Isthmus Peak as a hike better.
I hope this helps you decide which hike to choose. For all the nitty gritty trail details we have in-depth guides to both Roys Peak and Isthmus Peak.
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