© Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 
© Kesara Rathnayake · CC BY-SA 2.0 
Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area
Skyline Ridge Trail
Advanced 2.3 kmreturn 1.5–2.5 hr return from Knoll Ridge ↑ 236 m
Viewpoint · Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area
Skyline Ridge
2,300 m AlpineSnowPanorama
A 2,300 m ridge above Knoll Ridge with the widest panorama on the mountain.
From the Knoll Ridge Chalet a marked summer trail climbs scoria and rock to Skyline Ridge, looking down onto the Whakapapa Glacier and across to Ngāuruhoe, Tongariro, Lake Taupō and, on a clear day, Mount Taranaki. It is high, exposed and only open when the gondola runs in summer.
❄ Snow patches persist well into summer; the trail is only open when snow-free and the Sky Waka is running.
Skyline Ridge © Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 Tracks that reach Skyline Ridge
© Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 © Kesara Rathnayake · CC BY-SA 2.0 Also nearby
#2
Lava landscape· 1,700 m · Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area
Meads Wall
A towering wall of jagged lava beside the ski-field base, used for Emyn Muil in The Lord of the Rings.
Filming location Meads Wall
Ski area· 1,630 m · Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area
Top of Bruce Road / Iwikau Village
The highest road end in the North Island and the base of the Whakapapa ski area.
#3
Viewpoint· 2,020 m · Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area
Sky Waka & Knoll Ridge
A gondola ride from 1,630 m to 2,020 m over lava gullies to New Zealand’s highest café.