Booking choice: The Franz Josef heli hike, from $536 per person. Check dates Tour details
Old photos show lines of walkers in hobnailed boots climbing straight onto Franz Josef Glacier from the valley floor. That stopped in 2012. The glacier pulled back up its valley, the ice at the front thinned and collapsed, and the Waiho River now runs where the path used to be.
Plenty of tour listings and travel blogs still blur this. Here is what you can reach on foot today, what you can reach by helicopter, and what each costs, at Franz Josef and at Fox Glacier 25 km south.
The quick answer
No, not on foot. Guided walks onto Franz Josef Glacier from the valley ended in 2012, and the free valley track stops at a viewpoint about 3 km from the ice. Fox Glacier is the same: its access road closed for good in 2019. The only way to walk on either glacier is a heli hike, from $536 at Franz Josef and $507 at Fox. A snow-landing flight puts you on snow high above the glacier for about 10 minutes, with no hiking.
Can you walk on Franz Josef Glacier?
Yes, but only after a helicopter flight. Since 2012 nobody walks onto the ice from the valley, and Franz Josef Glacier Guides is the only company allowed to guide on it.
The heli hike is a 4-hour trip from Glacier Base on Cron Street. A helicopter lands you on the upper glacier, about 10 minutes of flying in total, and a guide leads you across the ice in crampons for about 2 hours 15 minutes, cutting steps with an axe as you go. Boots, socks, a waterproof jacket and over-trousers, a hat and gloves come with it. Our heli hike review covers each step.
Walking alone onto the glacier is not an option. The terminal face is unstable and the river in front of it is fast, cold and full of silt. DOC puts it bluntly on its track page: "The river has cut off access up the valley, so it is not possible to go further on foot."
The only way to walk on Franz Josef Glacier: a short flight, then about two hours on crampons with a guide. Gear included.
Explore the Franz Josef heli hike Tour detailsWhy did walks onto the glacier stop?
Because the glacier retreated fast after 2008. In 2012 a large cavity opened under the ice near the front, and guided walks from the valley ended.
Franz Josef was one of the few glaciers in the world still advancing in the 2000s. Then it turned. It has lost about 1.5 km since 2008 (Wikipedia). In 2011 the ice behind the terminal thinned by about 70 metres, and in 2012 a hole opened under the surface; seismometers picked up ice quakes as the cavity collapsed (Wikivoyage). The guiding company moved every trip into the air.
Retreat has not stopped. The walk from the car park to the ice face, back when people still tried it, grew to nearly 4 km. Guides on the heli hike explain the science and the Māori story of Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, the frozen tears of Hine Hukatere, on the way up.
How close can you get to Franz Josef Glacier on foot?
To a fenced viewing area about 3 km from the terminal face, on a free 1.7 km return track. The Roberts Point Track gets you a higher, closer view in about 5 hours.
The Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere walk starts at the car park at the end of Glacier Access Road, about 4 km from the village, and takes about 30 minutes return. It crosses the gravel riverbed to a viewing area with waterfalls on both sides. Glacier Country Tourism puts the viewpoint about 3,000 m from the ice. On a clear day you see the glacier tongue between the valley walls; in cloud, you may see nothing at all.
For a closer look without a helicopter, fit walkers take the Roberts Point Track: about 12.3 km return and 5 to 5.5 hours, with swing bridges, unbridged streams and rock slabs that turn slick in rain. DOC warns that several people have died on it. Go in fine weather only. Our valley walk guide covers every track from the car park.
Can you walk on Fox Glacier instead?
No. Fox Glacier is also helicopter-only. Its access road was closed for good after a 2019 landslide, and the walking viewpoint sits about 2.6 km from the ice.
A landslide blocked the Fox Glacier access road in early 2019, and in August DOC announced it would not reopen: engineers found no practical fix, and reinstating access would cost about NZ$16 million with no guarantee it would survive the next big storm. Fox Glacier Guiding's own website lists its glacier trips as helicopter access only.
What remains on foot is the South Side Walkway, which starts 2 km south of Fox Glacier township and reaches two viewpoints in about 50 minutes. Details in our Fox Glacier walks guide. To stand on Fox Glacier, book the Fox Glacier heli hike: up to 3 hours on the ice, from $507.
Up to three hours on Fox Glacier after a four-minute flight, from age 9.
Check dates for the Fox Glacier heli hikeWhat can you reach, and how?
On foot: viewpoints. By helicopter: the ice itself, or a snowfield high above it. Here is every option side by side.
Prices are 2026 from-prices per person in USD.
| Option | How you get there | On the ice? | Time | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere walk | Free DOC track from the glacier car park | No: viewpoint about 3 km away | 30 min | Free (parking extra) |
| Guided Franz Josef valley walk | Small group, public and off-track trails | No: no closer than the public viewpoint | 3 hours | $67 |
| Fox Glacier valley walk | Guided, South Side Walkway | No: viewpoint about 2.6 km away | 3 to 4 hours | $67 |
| Snow-landing flight | Helicopter, landing on the névé | On snow above the glacier, about 10 min | 20 to 25 min | $215 |
| Franz Josef heli hike | Helicopter, then guided ice walk | Yes, about 2 h 15 min | 4 hours | $536 |
| Fox Glacier heli hike | Helicopter, then guided ice walk | Yes, up to 3 hours | 4 hours | $507 |
| Queenstown heli hike day | Plane from Queenstown, then helicopter | Yes, about 2 hours | 7 hours | $1,250 |
The guided valley walks are good trips. Glacier Valley Eco Tours says it straight on its own site: "For safety we cannot get any closer to the glacier than the public viewpoint." Book one for the rainforest, the off-track trails and the guide, not for the ice.
Who is allowed to guide on Franz Josef Glacier?
Only Franz Josef Glacier Guides. It calls itself the only operator certified to guide on this glacier, so every Franz Josef heli hike, whoever sells it, is their trip.
That matters when you compare listings. A Franz Josef heli hike on Viator, on another site, or at the counter on Cron Street ends up on the same helicopter with the same guides. Direct, Franz Josef Glacier Guides charges NZ$899 per person; Viator starts at $536, about the same money, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The trip takes ages 10 and up, between 35 and 115 kg and at least 137 cm tall, in groups of up to 11 per guide. Summer departures run at 7:30, 10:00 and 12:30. Take the first one: the cloud often builds by midday. The full weather story is in weather and cancellations.
Is there a way onto the snow without hiking?
Yes. Snow-landing flights fly over the glaciers and land high on the névé for about 10 minutes. No crampons, no fitness test, and children are welcome.
Three companies on Main Road sell them. Glacier Helicopters' 25-minute flight ($236) lands for about 10 minutes and takes groups of up to six. The Glacier Explorer ($230) does the same, but its listing warns that in summer the landing site may have no snow and be a rocky mountainside. The 20-minute private flight ($215) puts your group alone in the helicopter.
You stand on snow, not glacier ice, and you walk a few metres around the helicopter. For anyone under 10, anyone who would rather not hike for two hours, or anyone short on time, it is the right call.
No hiking needed: fly over the glacier and step out onto the snow for about 10 minutes.
Check dates for the 25-minute snow-landing flightCan you go ice climbing at Franz Josef?
Yes, but only with the glacier operators directly. Heli ice climbing is not sold on Viator.
Franz Josef Glacier Guides runs a Heli Ice Climb at NZ$1,249 for ages 16 and up, with harness, ice axes and a guide (FJGG FAQ). Fox Glacier Guiding offers ice climbing and an all-day heli hike with up to 7 hours on the ice. Book those on the operators' own sites.
For most people the standard heli hike is enough: steps cut into the ice, narrow blue passages and a guide who knows which crevasse is new this week. Read Franz Josef or Fox to pick a glacier, and what to wear before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Can you walk to Franz Josef Glacier without a helicopter?
To a viewpoint, yes. The free Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere track is 1.7 km return, about 30 minutes, and ends about 3 km from the ice. The Waiho River blocks the way further up the valley.
When did people stop walking on Franz Josef Glacier from the valley?
In 2012. The glacier retreated fast after 2008, a cavity collapsed under the ice near the front, and guided walks from the valley floor ended. Every glacier walk since then starts with a helicopter.
Does a guided valley walk go onto the ice?
No. The guided valley walks use public and private trails but go no closer to the glacier than the public viewpoint. They are rainforest and riverbed walks with a glacier view.
Is a snow landing the same as walking on the glacier?
No. A snow landing puts you on snow high above the glacier for about 10 minutes next to the helicopter. A heli hike is two to three hours walking on the glacier ice in crampons with a guide.
Ready to book
Choose your glacier trip
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Franz Josef Glacier Heli Hike
- Helicopter flights up and back, about 10 minutes in all
- Guided walk on the ice, about 2 h 15 min
- Boots, crampons, waterproof jacket and over-trousers, hat and gloves
Fox Glacier Heli Hike
- Two helicopter transfers
- Guide for up to 3 hours on the ice
- Leather boots and socks, crampons and poles
25-Minute Glacier Flight with Snow Landing
Above the glacier and onto the snow for about 10 minutes, no hiking
