Established as a gold rush township in the 1860s[3] on the banks of the small river of the same name, it is known for its distinctive hotel of gold rush vintage which is on the opposite side of the river to the original township of which few buildings remain.

It is in a scenic setting on the Crown Range road which connects Wānaka and Queenstown.

[5] Cardrona is the home of the internationally known Race to the Sky hillclimb which was last held in 2015.

Winter can be extreme by New Zealand standards with temperature mostly in the single digits during the day time followed by cold and frosty nights and frequent snowfalls.

Cardrona was originally a gold mining town but in the 1980s it became a tourist destination.