The tiny town of Fox Glacier is home to (or at least close to) some awesome short walks, as well as a scenic beach accessed via a long gravel road. There isn’t much to do in the town itself, but it makes for a good base for exploring the area. Looking for the best things to do in Fox Glacier? You’ve come to the right place!
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The Best Things to Do in Fox Glacier
Most of these are outside the town and you’ll need a car (or penchant for hitchhiking) to reach them.
Fox Glacier Valley Walk / South Side Walkway
The Fox Glacier Valley Walk is closed indefinitely. You can do the South Side Walkway instead but the views aren’t as good. I left the information about the other track as I’m hoping it reopens one day.
The track takes you down a valley and up a hill to one of the closest viewpoints of Fox Glacier you’re likely to get. It’s an easy track (with some uphill hiking at the end) and the views are awesome – sheer cliff faces, waterfalls, the milky river flowing from the glacier, and of course, the glacier itself. You can’t come to a town called Fox Glacier and not see the glacier!
Lake Matheson
The other popular thing to do in Fox Glacier is a visit to Lake Matheson. You’ve probably seen photos of this place on social media or travel adverts for the West Coast – views in these parts don’t get much more iconic.
The walk itself takes around an hour and is almost completely flat – a great option for people with kids. There are several viewpoints around the lake, but there’s one in particular that holds the best views. It can get crowded there, but wait a while for the crowds to die down and you might get this special place all to yourself. I’ve seen some awesome sunrise / sunset photos of this place too – it’s on the list for next time.
Fox Glacier Viewpoint
You’ll see this when driving to Lake Matheson. The little viewing area overlooks lush farmland with Fox Glacier towering over it. Probably the best view of Fox Glacier that you can get for free these days.
Farm / Mountain Views
Another iconic view in the countryside around Fox Glacier is the Southern Alps towering over lush looking farmland. The best place we saw this was towards the end of the Lake Matheson Track, but I’m sure there’s lots of other spots.
Gillespies Beach
Located down a long gravel road, Gillespies Beach is a great place to do some cheap camping near Fox Glacier. It’s a DOC Camp, and you can either sleep in your vehicle or in a tent. It’s basic, but who wouldn’t want to camp in a spot like this!
The beach itself is a nice place to watch sunset, and there are some walks that start close to the camping ground. There aren’t many beaches in New Zealand where you can see awesome views of snow-capped mountains right from the sand (or more accurately, stones), so this place is worth the drive even if you’re not camping there.
Other Walks in Fox Glacier
Lake Gault and the Mount Fox Route are the other walks I’d take a look at (we haven’t done them yet) – the Lake Gault one looks a bit like Lake Matheson but not as good, and the Mount Fox Route looks really hard – if you’re tougher than us you might want to check it out. A good alternative to that is the Alex Knob Track in nearby Franz Josef – the views are amazing and while it’s steep it isn’t that hard.
Chill Out in Town
We haven’t actually stayed in Fox Glacier before, we’d always found it easier to stay in Franz Josef and see the things we wanted to in Fox Glacier either on the way or the way home. It’s a cool little town though and you’ll find a few places to sleep, eat and drink. There’s a bit more going on in Franz Josef, but Fox Glacier could be the perfect quieter alternative. The added bonus is that you’re closer to Lake Matheson, meaning you can go there for sunset / sunrise a little easier.
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Jon Algie
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