Freedom Camping in Westland 2026: Hokitika, Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Haast

What the council's page says

The council's campgrounds and responsible camping page states that freedom camping is only permitted if your vehicle is certified self-contained. It says council reserves are not permitted for freedom camping under the Reserves Act, and that tent campers and vehicles that are not certified should use commercial operators. The page leaves out the number of nights and any fine amounts, and says only that fines may be issued.

It names three responsible freedom camping sites run by local communities, each asking for a donation: Kumara Domain on Seddon Street in Kumara, Woodstock Domain at 47 Back Creek Road in Rimu, and Paringa Salmon Farm at 6156 Haast Highway in Paringa. Brochure maps for Kumara, Hokitika, Ross, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, and Paringa and Haast, are linked from the page.

Council dump stations

The council lists dump stations for certified self-contained vehicles at three places: the oxidation ponds on State Highway 6 near Hokitika, between Cron Street and State Highway 6 at Franz Josef, and by the toilets on Marks Road at Haast. Those are the places the draft bylaw names as the only legal destinations for wastewater, including human waste.

Between Hokitika and Haast the gaps are long, with only a few of these on the way, so empty the tanks at Hokitika or Franz Josef rather than hoping for another stop. The West Coast road trip guide has the distances between towns.

The 2024 draft bylaw

The council consulted from 25 October to 25 November 2024 on a Responsible Freedom Camping Bylaw 2024, with hearings in December that year. The draft PDF the council published has blank commencement and review dates, and no adoption notice turned up, so everything in this section is a proposal. If it was adopted, the council's page and the signs at each site are what to follow.

The draft would restrict freedom camping to named areas for certified self-contained and, in most cases, non-certified vehicles, between 8pm and 7am until the allocated car park is full. It would allow no more than two nights within 30 days, ban lighting fires, forbid camping within 20 metres of a lake, sea or beach unless a restricted area says otherwise, and prohibit tents and temporary structures on all council land in the district.

Where the draft prohibits camping

The draft's prohibited list is a set of township and open-space maps: Kaniere, Ruatapu, Ross, Harihari, Okarito, Fox Glacier, Bruce Bay, Hannahs Clearing, Okuru, Neils Beach and Jackson Bay. Fox Glacier appears only on the prohibited list, with no restricted site, so a night there means a campground or a holiday park.

Reserves would stay closed under the Reserves Act 1977 unless a reserve management plan or the council's delegated ministerial consent allows camping.

Fines

The draft points to the national schedule, which prices camping in breach of a bylaw at $400, a self-contained vehicle carrying more people than its certificate allows at $400, and a warrant card not on show at $200. Leaving rubbish or damaging the land costs $800, and failing to leave when an officer requires it costs $600.

The green warrant is the one that counts now, because blue ones were retired on 7 June 2026. A rental company receives the notice first and passes it on.

DOC campsites on the West Coast

Conservation land runs by DOC's rules and DOC's booking. KiwiCamping's DOC data (11 August 2026) lists 14 DOC campsites in the West Coast region, 12 of them bookable online through DOC, with adult nightly rates from $10 to $20. Lake Māhinapua Campsite, the largest, holds 100 sites.

Glacier country has few options between the township bans, so book a holiday park or a DOC campsite for Franz Josef and Fox Glacier in January, and read the DOC campsites guide for how its bookings work. The road trip guide for the coast links the stops in order.

Using KiwiCamping on the West Coast

KiwiCamping maps the West Coast's DOC campsites, huts, tracks and holiday parks, and its dump station pins help with the long gaps. The council's three community sites and its draft restricted areas are not in the app, so check the council page for the current list. With no signal the app keeps place details, saved places and guides, but the map tiles, routing, weather and photos wait for reception.

Build the coast as one trip, with a dated stop each night, a holiday park saved as the fallback for the night that depends on a community site, and the distance and forecast shown per leg. Free to download, with in-app purchases.

Places along the way