Mount Aspiring National Park, covering about 200, 000 ha initially, was established in 1964 as New Zealand's 10th national park. The New Zealand Alpine Club played a leading role in the campaign for the park, and since then outdoor recreation and conservation organisations have successfully argued for various additions of range country and lowlands. These additions have increased the park's area by over 75 percent.
Few roads penetrate this wilderness park. The Haast Highway (SH 6) traverses the northern end for about 50km; in the south the Routeburn Road extends for 3 km into the park. Mount Aspiring, for which the park is named, is the pre-eminent peak of southern New Zealand. At 3033m, it rises like a four sided pyramid, the highest peak in the Alps outside the Mount Cook region, 125 km to the north.
