Mueller Hut at sunset. Photo Credit: Kate Ross
Mueller Hut, one of New Zealand’s most iconic alpine huts, is located in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. It is accessed by the Mueller Hut track, which starts at the White Horse Campground, an hour’s drive north of Twizel.
I visited Mueller Hut in January 2025, after almost five years of eagerly waiting to come back to New Zealand. It is truly one of the most scenic places I have stayed and was well worth the effort to get to.
Here is some beta for you to use while planning your hike to Mueller Hut.
Trail Stats
Distance: 9.7km round trip from White Horse Hill trailhead
Elevation: 1,056m (according to AllTrails)
Route Type: Out and back
Difficulty: Hard
Hiking Season: December – April
Planning Resources
The Department of Conservation website has lots of useful information and topographic maps to help you plan your trip.
Preparing for the Trip
Itinerary
You can do Mueller Hut as a longer day trip, or as an overnight trip. I wanted to see the sunset and the stars, so I decided to haul my gear up and camp overnight. I was happy with this decision but if you are short on time you could do this as a day trip. Just make sure you start early, and bring plenty of water and food.
Transportation to Trailhead
There is ample parking at the White Horse Hill campground, which is one hour north of Twizel. The road is paved and in generally good condition.
Sleeping Options
If you choose to do this as an overnight hike, you can sleep in the hut, or bring a tent and camp outside the hut. If you want to sleep in the hut you will need to book ahead, and book early – some of the people I talked to had booked over six months in advance! To sleep in the hut was $40 for an adult for one night at the time of writing.
I could not book a spot in the hut and so I brought my tent and camped outside. There were some good flat spots to set up a tent, but not many. To use the hut facilities, it was $15. You can book this ahead of time at the visitor’s centre in Mount Cook village.
You can free camp out of sight of the hut, but cannot use any of the facilities.
On the Trail
Day 1: White Horse Hill to Mueller Hut
I drove up from Twizel the day before starting this hike, and camped at White Horse Hill campground. It was $18 per person at the time of writing. Since I had camped at the trailhead, I was able to get started by 8:30AM. When I did the hike, it was sunny, and the sun was already relentlessly hot by this early hour.
The trail starts gradually from White Horse Hill, but quickly turns into a set of steep stairs for the climb up to Sealy Tarns. It took me about an hour to get to the tarns viewpoint, and by then I was absolutely dripping in sweat.
After a snack break, I continued the climb upwards. From here the trail changes and instead of well-formed stairs becomes more of a steep track through loose scree. I actually found this section easier because you can take smaller steps, but it was slippery, so good footwear is important.
You climb quite relentlessly until you round a corner and are awarded with your first glimpse of the hut. It is a 5-10 minute climb from this point up until your final destination. It took me about 3.5 hours with my heavy bag and several breaks to get to the hut.
I set up my tent on a ridge overlooking Mount Sefton:
Overlooking Mount Sefton and the Sefton Glacier. Photo Credit: Kate Ross
From Mueller Hut you can do a 30 minute scramble up to Mount Olivier. I spent the afternoon exploring the area around the hut, taking photos, and absorbing the scenery from the hut deck. Periodically I could hear the glacier cracking, moving, and even saw some small avalanches. From Mueller Hut you can see a small orange hut on a ridge below Mount Sefton – this is Sefton Bivvy. A future adventure, perhaps?
Day 2: Mueller Hut to White Horse Hill
In the morning, after a leisurely coffee watching the sun rise over the mountains, I slowly descended the way I came. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy and raining slightly on the descent, so I didn’t get any views. This took me about 2 hours and my knees were grateful to finally reach the parking lot!
Summary
Mueller Hut is one of the most popular huts in New Zealand – and with good reason. I had been waiting to get up here for over five years and I was so grateful to be able to finally tick this one off the bucket list. It is busy but with good reason, and if you camp you can have some space to yourself, if that is what you are looking for.
