Before you drive
The valley tracks at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier sit on a river floor in one of the wettest parts of New Zealand, and the Department of Conservation moves and closes sections of them through the year. A closure almost never means the day is lost: the guided walks follow whatever is open, the lake trips run in weather that stops the valleys, and the ice itself is reached by helicopter from $514. Here is how to check before you drive, and what to book instead.
Quick answer
The short answer. Check the Department of Conservation track page for Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the morning you travel, then check your booking confirmation. Guided walks from $63 adjust to whatever is open that day, which is the main practical reason to book one. If the valleys are shut, the Lake Mapourika trips from $71 and Lake Matheson at $69 usually keep running, and the heli hikes land on the ice above all of it.
Why a track closes here
Closures here are usually one section of one track, and usually short.
Both glacier valleys are working riverbeds. Meltwater leaves the ice, picks up gravel and carries it down a flat floor between steep walls, and after a long spell of rain the water simply takes a different line than it did the week before. When that happens the Department of Conservation moves the marked route, adds a detour, or closes a section while the ground settles.
The West Coast makes this ordinary rather than dramatic. Rain arrives off the Tasman Sea and rises against the Southern Alps, and the same weather that fills the rivers is the weather that keeps the rainforest on these valley walls so dense. A closure is usually short and specific: one section of one track, not the whole valley and not the whole region.
The second reason is maintenance. Bridges, steps and boardwalks on a river floor need rebuilding more often than tracks on solid ground, and DOC schedules that work in periods when the weather allows it. Those closures are planned and published in advance, which makes them the easy kind to work around.
What does not change is the shape of the day. The valley track takes you through rainforest to a lookout with the glacier in front of you; the ice itself is reached by helicopter. A closed section shortens the walk or moves it. It does not move the glacier.
Checking before you go
Do these in order on the morning you travel, not the night before — on this coast the picture changes overnight.
DOC publishes the current status for the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier valley walks, including alerts for sections that are closed or rerouted. It is the primary source and everything else quotes it.
If a guided walk changes route or meeting time, the operator writes to you. Glacier Valley Eco Tours runs both valley walks on this page and adjusts them to whatever is open on the day, so a closure often changes the route rather than the booking.
Franz Josef township sits a few kilometres from the glacier terminal and the weather at the head of the valley can be doing something else entirely. Rain in the village is not a reason to cancel a booked walk.
The Lake Mapourika cruise at $71 and the kayak trip at $85 are sheltered water with the Southern Alps behind them, and they read well in soft grey light. The Kiwi VIP tour at $57 is indoors.
Heli hikes are stood down by cloud rather than by track conditions, which makes them a genuinely different weather bet. Fox Glacier Guiding flies from $455 and Franz Josef Glacier Guides from $514.
If the valley is closed today
Two valleys, two lakes and one helicopter: something here runs on almost every day.
A guided valley walk on the other side. Franz Josef and Fox Glacier are about thirty minutes apart by road, and their valleys are separate catchments. When one is affected the other frequently is not, which is why the Fox Glacier walk at $63 and the Franz Josef lookout walk at $63 are worth thinking of as one pair of options rather than two separate days.
The lake trips. Lake Mapourika is the largest lake in South Westland and sits in sheltered bush a short drive north of the township. The two-hour cruise runs at $71, the kayak tour at $85, and the cruise-and-walk combination at $85 puts you on a private trail inside the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary.
Lake Matheson. Twenty minutes past Fox Glacier, ringed by ancient forest, and famous for mirror reflections of Aoraki and Mount Tasman on still water. The guided half-day at $69 is a gentle track with bridges and streams.
The ice. If you came to stand on a glacier, the helicopter is the answer on any day the cloud lifts. Fox Glacier Guiding gives up to three hours on the ice at $455, Franz Josef Glacier Guides two and a half at $514, and the extended small-group day at $886 includes a glacier lunch.
The case for a guide on a changeable day
Route knowledge, the drive between valleys, and a booking you can move.
On a settled day in a settled week, the valley tracks are self-explanatory and a guide is a matter of taste. On a changeable day the calculation is different, and it is worth being precise about why.
The first thing a guide holds is the current route. When a section is rerouted, the people walking it daily know where the marked path now runs and which viewpoints are worth the time that morning. That knowledge is perishable, which is exactly why it is hard to get from a webpage.
The second is the drive. The Fox Glacier walk at $63 departs from the Glacier Valley Eco Tours base in Franz Josef township and includes the run down to Fox and back, roughly thirty minutes each way. If the Franz Josef valley is having a poor morning, that booking has already solved the transport problem for you.
The third is the cancellation line. Free cancellation is shown on the listings that offer it, and on a week where the forecast keeps changing, a booking you can move is worth more than a booking you cannot.
Wondering how close a walk actually gets? This is the honest version.
Can you walk to the glacier?→Book direct
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Common questions
Sections of the valley track open and close through the year as the river moves gravel and the Department of Conservation reroutes the marked path. Check the DOC track page for Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the morning you travel, and read any message from your operator. Guided walks follow whatever is open that day.
Fox Glacier has its own valley and its own catchment about thirty minutes down the road, so its track status is separate from Franz Josef. When one valley is affected the other often runs normally, which is why booking a guided walk gives you both options.
Usually yes. Closures tend to affect one section rather than the whole valley, and the guided walks are routed to the viewpoints that are open. Where the valley floor is shut entirely, the helicopter trips from $514 land on the ice above it.
Operators reroute the walk or contact you directly. Free cancellation is shown on the listings that offer it, so check the cancellation line on your booking before you travel and keep a spare afternoon in the plan.
Often enough to check, rarely enough that most visitors walk the valley without noticing. Long spells of rain and scheduled bridge or boardwalk work are the two usual causes, and both are published by the Department of Conservation.
The ice is reached by helicopter. The valley tracks lead through rainforest to a lookout facing the terminal, and the guided heli hikes from $455 land you on the glacier with boots and crampons supplied.
Go deeper
When to walk the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier valleys — seasons, rain, daylight and the hours that give the clearest view up the valley.
Can you walk to the glacier?You can walk the free valley track to the Franz Josef Glacier lookout in about 90 minutes return.
Fox Glacier walksWalking at Fox Glacier — the valley track through rainforest, the viewpoints, Lake Matheson, and the guided half-day at $63 with transfers from Franz Josef.
Hiking without a helicopterWhat you can hike at Franz Josef and Fox on the ground: guided valley walks from $63, what a guide adds, and where the walking ends and the ice begins.
Every walk at Franz JosefEvery Franz Josef Glacier walk compared — the free valley track to the lookout, guided walks from $63, and the heli hikes onto the ice from $455.
Free and self-guidedFranz Josef Glacier walk free: which valley tracks cost nothing, what the guided walks at $63 add on top, and when each one is the right call.
Half-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local Guide
★ 4.7 · 188 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h