NZ Great Walks 2026/27: Huts, Campsites, Booking Dates and Fees

The 11 Great Walks at a glance

DOC's comparison page gives each walk's length and usual time, and the track pages give the huts and campsites. Counts are DOC's own wording on its track pages, and two of them do not agree with the names listed beside them: the Heaphy page says nine campsites but names ten places, and the Lake Waikaremoana page says five campsites but names four. Where DOC's count and its list differ, check the live page before you plan around the number.

Two walks have no camping at all. DOC says camping is not permitted on the Milford Track, and that there are no campsites on the Paparoa Track. Every other DOC-booked walk below has at least two campsites, and DOC says campers cannot use hut facilities on the walks where its page states a rule.

When 2026/27 bookings opened and what DOC has said about next year

DOC opened Great Walk bookings at 9:30 am on set days in May 2026, for stays between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027: the Paparoa Track on Tuesday 12 May, Milford on Wednesday 13 May, Abel Tasman on Thursday 14 May, Routeburn on Friday 15 May, Kepler on Tuesday 19 May, the Heaphy, Whanganui Journey and Lake Waikaremoana on Wednesday 20 May, and the Tongariro Northern Circuit and Rakiura Track on Thursday 21 May. DOC's release says its upgraded booking system includes a virtual queue to manage peak demand, and that the Hump Ridge Track is booked separately and can be reserved up to two years ahead.

DOC's 2026/27 release says nothing about the 2027/28 season. It has not published opening dates for it, so any date you see for next May is a guess until DOC announces it. DOC also says all bookings are first come, first served, and that it keeps no waiting lists for facilities that are already booked out. The practical step is to have your DOC booking account set up and tested before the next opening day; the DOC bookings guide covers that and the cancellation rules.

Fees per night for 2026/27

DOC charges per person per night, and most Great Walks have one price for New Zealanders and a higher one for international visitors. DOC says staff carry out random checks at visitor centres and huts to make sure people have paid the correct fee. DOC's pricing page sets child fees at half the adult fee, for New Zealand children aged 5 to 17 and international children aged 0 to 17.

The table shows the summer rate from DOC's Great Walks pricing page. The summer season runs from October to April on that page, but the season start differs by walk (Routeburn and Milford from 1 November, Tongariro from 23 October), and outside summer the rates are lower on most walks. DOC states there are no price changes to Great Walk huts for 2026/27. The Paparoa Track prices each hut separately.

Proof of residency, changes and cancellations

To pay the New Zealand rate you have to be able to show you are eligible. DOC's Great Walks terms say New Zealand citizens and people ordinarily resident in New Zealand are eligible, and that accepted proof includes a scan or photocopy of a passport or birth certificate, your New Zealand driver licence or a utility invoice with your name and address. If anyone in the party claims the rate and cannot show eligibility, the booking is invalid, and DOC says you pay the difference plus a $50 administration fee per person to validate it.

The cancellation fee depends on how close to arrival you cancel, counted from your first night. DOC charges nothing on the day you book, and nothing on the next day if arrival is more than two days away. It then charges 10% from 48 hours after booking up to 15 days before arrival, 50% from 14 to 4 days before, 75% from 3 days to the day before, and 100% on the day before, the day of or after arrival. Transfers are allowed within the same booking season but not to a different hut or campsite, and service and modification fees are not refundable.

Camping on a Great Walk

A Great Walk campsite is a booked pitch at a named site, and DOC says to camp only at the site you booked. The Abel Tasman page adds that there is strictly no freedom camping, that hammocks are not permitted at its campsites and that you can stay a maximum of two nights at one hut or campsite from 1 October to 30 April, or five nights from 1 May to 30 September. The Great Walk campsite at Tōtaranui can be booked for one night all year. Rakiura is capped at two nights at each hut or campsite.

The Freedom Camping Act defines freedom camping as camping within 200 metres of a formed road or a Great Walks track, among other places, and DOC says freedom camping is generally not permitted near Great Walks tracks. A DOC Campsite Pass cannot be used at Great Walk campsites. The guides to DOC campsites and DOC huts cover the rest of the DOC network, and Great Walk campsites are booked in DOC's booking system.

When the walks fill, and which ones have space

DOC does not publish which dates are booked out; availability only shows in the booking system. What DOC has published is how last summer went: many Great Walks huts reached or were close to capacity in the peak season, with Milford Track and Abel Tasman Coast Track huts both reaching around 95 per cent occupancy and the Kepler Track at 91 per cent. DOC also says about 60% of last season's Great Walk hut bookings were made by New Zealanders.

DOC's advice for a booked-out first choice is not to give up: it says tracks such as the Heaphy, Lake Waikaremoana and the Whanganui Journey often have space, and that while huts were often full, many campsites still had good availability for people willing to look at alternatives. If you are camping rather than staying in a hut, the campsite availability in the booking system can show space on a walk whose huts are full, though Milford and Paparoa have no campsites to fall back on. For the wider summer picture beyond the tracks, our guide to camping over Christmas and summer 2026-27 sets the school holiday crush against the booking dates.

What is different this season

The Tongariro Northern Circuit has the biggest change. DOC's 4 September 2026 release says the full circuit will run as a loop this summer once the Mangatepopo Track reopens in mid-December, and that the new Oturere Hut and its campsite open for bookings from 18 December 2026 after construction fell behind. DOC said it would email affected bookers offering a booking change or a full refund. The track page still describes a shorter 2026/27 route of 35.5 km that starts at Mangatepopo Carpark and ends in Whakapapa Village, so read both and check the live page before you go.

At Lake Waikaremoana, DOC says Whanganui Hut is closed and that the Hopuruahine road is not currently suitable for two-wheel-drive vehicles. DOC's Heaphy page says the track has reopened as a through route with a new bridge across the Heaphy River. The Great Walks season starts on 1 November on the Routeburn and Milford and on 27 October on the Kepler. DOC says avalanche risk on all three can extend into December, and that it may close the alpine sections of the Routeburn and Kepler during the season if there is avalanche hazard.

Using KiwiCamping to plan around the bookings

KiwiCamping's DOC data lists 33 Great Walk huts and 46 Great Walk campsites, each with its category, fee notes, facilities and a link to DOC's own page, and the filters can narrow the map to campsites or huts. DOC's booking system stays the only place to reserve them. Saved places, place details and guides are kept on the phone for use without signal, while map tiles, routing, weather and photos need a connection.

Save the booked huts and campsites to a trip, put them in walking order with the dates, and add a note with the booking reference and the shuttle or water taxi you have arranged. Each leg shows its distance and each place its forecast, which helps when you line up the drive to the trailhead with the walk. Free to download, with in-app purchases.

Places along the way