Best Scenic Campsites in New Zealand, Region by Region

Northland: the far north beaches

Maitai Bay on the Karikari Peninsula is a sheltered bay under pōhutukawa with room for about 100 unpowered pitches, cold showers and flush toilets, at $18 per adult. It does not take bookings, so in summer the rule is to arrive early in the day rather than at dusk.

Tapotupotu and Kapowairua (Spirits Bay) are the two DOC campsites at the top of the country, each with about 45 unpowered sites at $18. Tapotupotu sits beside a lagoon you can swim in, a 5 to 10 minute gravel-road drive from Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua; Kapowairua is a long beach with bush behind it. DOC is not taking bookings for either at present, so in summer arrive early; both suit campervans and cars rather than caravans.

Coromandel: white sand on the northern loop

Waikawau Bay is the big one: about 120 unpowered and 12 powered sites behind an undeveloped white-sand beach, at $18 to $23 per adult depending on the season. Stony Bay ($18) is a 5-hectare site where the Coromandel Coastal Walkway starts for Fletcher Bay, and Port Jackson ($18 to $20) sits at the water's edge at the northern tip of the peninsula.

All three take bookings, and between Christmas and late January they fill well ahead. The northern roads are narrow and partly unsealed, so check your rental agreement allows them before you plan the loop.

Central and lower North Island

Mangahuia is a quiet stream-side campsite on the edge of Tongariro National Park at $18, with about 21 unpowered sites. The plateau is high and cold at night even in summer, so the view of the volcanoes comes with a warm sleeping bag requirement.

Putangirua Pinnacles on the south Wairarapa coast costs $10, can be booked and looks across Cook Strait from beside the Putangirua Stream, with the walk to the Pinnacles from the campsite and the seal colony near Cape Palliser a short drive away. It is one of the few sites here where dogs are allowed, on a leash.

Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough

Tōtaranui Campground at the northern end of Abel Tasman National Park is the largest site on this list, with about 269 unpowered pitches on the beach at $18 to $20, a dump station and cold showers. Kerr Bay on Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park costs $25 to $30 and is a serviced site with hot showers and powered sites in beech forest.

In Marlborough, French Pass ($18 to $20) is a small 18-site campsite with a jetty at the end of a long, narrow road, looking across to Rangitoto ki te Tonga/D'Urville Island. Whites Bay ($15) is the easy one: a sheltered beach about half an hour from Blenheim.

West Coast

Lake Māhinapua ($18) is a lake-edge site in forest south of Hokitika with about 100 unpowered pitches and a jetty. Lake Paringa ($18) is a small lakeside site between Fox Glacier and Haast, and Gillespies Beach ($18 to $20) is an eight-site campsite at the end of a gravel road near Fox Glacier, by an old gold-mining settlement and a seal colony; DOC lists it for cars only.

The West Coast is wet and the sandflies are serious, which is exactly why these sites are quiet. Pitch with the door away from the wind, keep the screens closed at dusk and plan to dry gear later.

Canterbury and the Mackenzie

Lake Pearson (Moana Rua) on the road to Arthur's Pass is a $15 lakeside site in the high-country Waimakariri Basin, with about 20 unpowered pitches and long-drop toilets only. Ahuriri Bridge near Omarama is free, takes no bookings and sits on the bank of the Ahuriri River under willows.

The turquoise lakes of the Mackenzie Basin are inside the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, which is why the stars there are so good. KiwiCamping's DOC data has no campsite on the Tekapo or Pukaki shore itself, so a lakeside night there usually means a holiday park or a council site; check the council's rules before you park.

Glenorchy, Queenstown and the Catlins

Kinloch ($18) sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu across from Glenorchy, with a jetty and the Greenstone and Caples tracks nearby. Sylvan ($18) is beside the Routeburn River near the start of the Routeburn Track, and Twelve Mile Delta ($15) is a 100-pitch site on a river delta on the Glenorchy road out of Queenstown that takes no bookings.

On the Catlins coast, Purakaunui Bay ($15) is a beach campsite with about 40 unpowered pitches where dogs are allowed on a leash, and the region around it has waterfalls, sea lions and very few people.

Fiordland and Southland

The Milford Road campsites are the way to sleep in Fiordland National Park with a car or campervan. Cascade Creek ($18) at the lower end of Lake Gunn has about 120 unpowered sites and suits larger vehicles; Henry Creek ($18) is a smaller site on the shore of Lake Te Anau. DOC lists 24 current notices in its Te Anau district that prohibit camping, including along the Milford Road, so plan each night at one of the campsites.

Mavora Lakes ($10) is the cheap, big-sky alternative: two camping areas between South and North Mavora Lake, reached by a long gravel road, with dogs allowed on a leash. Fiordland campsites are pack in, pack out, with no rubbish bins.

Judging a site when you arrive

Read the landscape rather than the photograph. Lakeshores amplify wind and it usually rises in the evening. River flats and braided riverbeds flood far faster than they look capable of. Forest sites carry falling-branch risk in wind, particularly under older trees.

Arrive in daylight and walk the pitch before committing a large vehicle: check the slope, the firmness of the ground and the soft edges, look up for overhead branches, and confirm another vehicle can still get past you.

Booking, fees and the app

Most of the sites above take bookings through DOC's online booking system, and the popular ones fill for weekends and the summer holidays. The sites on the list DOC was not taking bookings for in October 2026 are Maitai Bay, Tapotupotu, Kapowairua, Ahuriri Bridge and Twelve Mile Delta, so those are first come. Fees are per adult per night; check the DOC page for child rates and any change before you go.

In KiwiCamping every DOC campsite carries its fee, facilities, vehicle access and dog rules, so you can compare them on the map and save a shortlist for the trip. DOC campsites are part of the Premium pass; only BookIt stays and tours are free in the app.

Leaving it as you found it

Stay on formed surfaces, use the toilets provided, and keep every waste stream contained. Do not move rocks, cut vegetation or improve a pitch to make a better photograph; these are exactly the marks that get a site closed.

Leave early if you like, but leave clean and quietly. Dawn light is not a reason to run a generator, fly a drone where it is prohibited, or wake a campground packing up. The best scenic sites stay open because the people who use them are unremarkable neighbours.

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