The Hop Trail

Traversing land that is not usually open to the public and culminating in a dedicated beer tasting at one of the Queenstown Lakes’ most celebrated breweries, Altitude Brewery, this ride is for those with a love of adventure and liquid gold!

After a good climb up an exclusive farm track with staggering views from the top, head down to Altitude Brewery for a session amongst the vats and paraphernalia that is all about brewing.  Hosted by the brewery team, you’ll be let into a few secrets of beer production as you taste some of their favourite beers including their established classics like Mischievous Kea IPA and Sled Dog Hazy, plus a selection of more recent brews like Zen Shiro Sake Pilsner.

After a fortifying pizza lunch with a beer of your choice, ride back to Arrowtown via the Twin Rivers trail OR we’ll pick you up and shuttle you back to the Festival Village.

The Hop Trail experience includes the beer tastings at Altitude Brewery, your pizza lunch and a beer, and the shuttle back to Arrowtown for you and your bike.  A trail map is provided for those keen to bike back to the Festival Village.

Riders depart Arrowtown 10.30am on Saturday and Sunday, returning approximately 3-4pm.

This grade 3 ride covers a combination of trails, farm tracks and a smattering of road riding.  It’s a reasonable workout, but nothing technically tricky.  The ride distance from the Festival Village to Altitude is 30km; the return along the Twin Rivers trail is about 19km.