Arrowtown: Gold Rush History and Trails Along the Arrow River

Arrowtown combines the history of gold mining with a variety of ways to explore the town and its landscape. Historic buildings, a museum and trails along the Arrow River offer different ways to shape your stay: you can take an interest in the past of the gold miners or spend time outdoors. The experiences that matter to you on your trip can also help you choose a suitable holiday rental in Arrowtown.

Gold rush history in the streets and settlement

A significant group of historic buildings from the 1870s still stands on Buckingham Street today. Miners’ cottages and small stone buildings connect with the history of gold mining and Arrowtown’s social history. As you walk along the street, you’ll encounter not just individual old houses, but different traces of how the town’s history took shape.

The Arrowtown Chinese Settlement tells the story of the region’s Chinese gold miners. Following an archaeological excavation in December 1983, the settlement was partially restored. Detailed signs in English and Chinese provide information about the people and their history. Five cottage sites were reconstructed to illustrate how people lived at the time. The main path through the settlement is suitable for wheelchairs and strollers.

Museum, art and local stories

The Lakes District Museum & Gallery presents stories of the tangata whenua, gold miners and settlers. The places and objects on display include a reconstructed grog shanty, a Victorian schoolhouse and a blacksmith’s workshop. This allows you to focus your museum visit on different aspects of local history. Exhibitions featuring works by local artists rotate in the gallery space; the works are available for purchase. If you’d like to explore Arrowtown with a guide rather than on your own, the museum offers private guided tours of the town for groups and individuals.

The Arrowtown Arts Trail is another way to explore galleries, studios and museums. This interactive guide, based on Google Maps, leads to these arts and cultural venues in Arrowtown. It can help you give your stay a cultural focus. The museum, historic buildings and settlement each offer a different perspective, from the stories of tangata whenua and settlers to the way people lived during the gold-mining era.

Trails between river, forest and viewpoints

If you’re planning to spend time outdoors, you’ll find trails with different characteristics. The Arrow River Bridges Trail starts in Arrowtown near the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. It follows the willow-lined Arrow River; in summer, there are swimming and picnic spots there. The Queenstown Trail is a more extensive option: it comprises more than 150 kilometres of off-road trails from Queenstown to Gibbston via historic Arrowtown. The two trails therefore differ both in their stated lengths and in their routes.

The Bush Creek Track starts at the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement and leads to the town’s old water intake. The trail climbs steeply through beech forest and open grassland to a saddle, with views towards the Whakatipu Basin. If you’re planning a hike, take the steep gradient into account. The Sawpit Gully Track presents different challenges: this 7-kilometre loop includes steep ascents and descents, as well as a section where you climb over rocks in a stream. The route also passes high above the Arrow River. These specific trail features can help you decide whether to include a river landscape walk, a steep climb or a longer loop in your stay.

Discover more places

Moonlight: Moonlight, Speargrass Flat, Lake Hayes, Kingston, Closeburn, Lower Shotover, Glenorchy, Makarora.

For the broader travel overview: Queenstown Lakes District.