Lake Daniells Car Park

Lake Daniell is an easy day-walk or overnighter in Lewis Pass. The flat walk is suitable for families with children or first-timers. There is a lovely lake as a reward for your effort. It is 8.4km one-way, less than 150m elevation and the track follows along an historic gold mining river. It is 2-3 hrs one-way to Manson Nicholls Memorial Hut. Difficulty: Easy The Alpine Fault runs through the car park at this location. Not far from the car park is a low concrete wall, which was built by scientists in 1964 to gauge movement on the fault. It is expected that any movement will be a large jump of several metres or more when the Alpine Fault erupts. The Alpine Fault erupts every 300 years and is way overdue. The Alpine Fault is over 600km long. When the Alpine Fault erupts it will be the mother of all earthquakes and should be over 8 on the Richter magnitude scale, lasting 2-3 minutes in duration. The Sluice Box is a small gorge with beautiful hues of the Maruia River. The bridge over the gorge is a 5 minute walk from the carpark.There used to be historic gold mining oprations up valley but these ceased when it became part of the Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve.
Dec 12th, 2021

Sep 8th, 2022

Jul 1st, 2022

Jun 14th, 2022

Great track for kids or those who dont hike too often. Its relatively flat and its under forest cover. We did this with our 5 year old in about 5.5 hours. Theres a seat to take a break at about 5km in towards the lake as well as an opening in the trees which takes you to the riverbed about 3km in. The sandflies are relentless at the hut so make sure you take repellent or keep covered up. Theres a newish built hut at the lake that you can book and stay overnight - seems quite popular with families to do this!
Jan 16th, 2022