Lake Ōkāreka Campsite
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Lake Ōkāreka Campsite
This lakeside campsite is only 15 min from Rotorua. You can swim or fish in the lake.
This is a small and pretty campsite 15 minutes out of Rotorua City. Also known as Lake Ōkāreka Scenic Reserve.
Notices
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Lake Ōkareka Campsite access road maintenance
Minor access road work will be carried out from 1–5 December 2025. Expect short delays. Follow all on site signage and instructions.
First published on 1 December 2025.
DOC Campsite Pricing
Lake Ōkareka Campsite is categorised as a DOC Standard Campsite. The following pricing indicates usual pricing. Prices vary for some campsites and may include seasonal pricing. Visit the DOC website for exact pricing.
DOC Standard Campsite
Standard campsites have a more limited range of facilities and services than Serviced campsites. These campsites have toilets, a water supply that could be treated or untreated tap water, or from a stream or lake, and vehicle or boat access. Bring your own soap for washing hands. Untreated water should be boiled before use to ensure it's safe. Wood BBQs and fireplaces, cold showers, picnic tables, a cooking shelter and rubbish bins may be provided; this will vary from site to site.
| Feature | Value | Value |
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| Unpowered Site | Adult | $10.00 to $15.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $5.00 to $7.50 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Infant | $0.00 per night |
Adults are 18+ years, children are 5-17 years, infants are 0-4 years.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC Bay of PlentyCentral government organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Tarawera |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Basic Camping
Google Maps
Reviews
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Beautiful campsite !
Emma -
Amazing view of the lake!
Ike -
Great cheap camping spot right by the lake.
Jenny -
Lovely campsite by the lake.
Emer -
Great spot!!!
S Scott
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Very basic, but so so stunning.
Easy to get to. No running water at all, only a drop toilet, and lake water that needs to be boiled before use. There are facilities (running water, showers, etc) at Boyne's Beach up the road, but you need a Penny Key/kiwi cash thing to pay for them (we got ours at the I site at the redwoods in Rotorua)
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A nice view of the lake with lots of ducks and small birds around, has a short trail along the hike.
Has campervan spots of gravel divided into groups of two, fortunately there was only four people there so it wasn’t super crowded. There’s a caretaker camper there but came to find out that the normal caretaker took his wife to the hospital in the night so another nice elder was collecting tolls and cleaning. Bit expensive but as I watched the poor guy clean the toilets gagging and coughing like it was full of mustard gas made me less disappointed by the cost to have a clean toilet. There was a group of local youths came by late at night with bright flashlights but never stoped or did anything. Overall felt relatively safe. The temp caretaker came around 8:00 am.
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Beautiful campsite !
A shelter for cooking under, two clean toilets, incredible views of the lake. Fellow campers were all respectful and Les the ranger was super friendly and helpful. Recommend a dip in the lake in the morning to wake you up !
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Amazing view of the lake!
Cute ducklings out when we went, track is a little bumpy to get down and toilets could do with a clean perhaps but overall very lovely stay. Lots of backpackers and mountain bikers who were friendly.
Man comes round in the evening and morning to check permits/bookings
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Nice camp on the lake w pleasant views and lovely for an evening swim.
Basic toilet and no water but there is drinking water and rubbish at boyes beach a few minutes drive away. Ranger came round and checked bookings/passes at around 7:30. Nice ranger - loved a natter and was great vibes! Well located for lakes and Tarawera trail.
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Perfect location right on the lake, local ranger was super helpful and gave tips on the best places to visit in the local area.
Has a somewhat sheltered communal area (roof no sides) for meals, and a long drop toilet. Lake is clean if you can brave a swim, or a quick dip. Easy access to Rotorua and surrounding area.
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Place is very nice, right by the lake, rather calm, no nearby road to hear cars passing but it's busy most of the time and toilets are full of insects.
No water - for thst you can go to nearby Boys Beach where is drinking water, clean toilets, trash and showers. The major problem in this campsite in my opinion is some "genious" idea to put 5 extremely bumpy speed bumps on the way down/up what makes your way out of the camp in a van rather hard and unpleasant - my van had problems to go through the bump on a very steep road up the hill - doing it without hitting it hard is rather problematic, big minus for that and DOC paranoia when it comes to those things...
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Would not recommend.
Local youth seems to gather to drink at the beach (despite chilly and windy Sunday night). Also lots of late night car movements and dirty drop toilets
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Wonderful place for camping and swimming.
You'll need to get there early to reserve a spot on the lake. Easy access. However, the toilets are very dirty and there are rats at night. Showers and flush toilets are at Boys Beach (20-minute walk).
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Nice place by the lake.
Especially in nice weather it would be a nice spot, but there is also a shelter. Toilets were not so clean.
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Very expensive for a DOC campsite with basically no facilities apart from a Long drop loo.
Interesting also that we turned up at around 5.30pm and less than 10 minutes later the "contractiol" warden turned up to collect the fee of $15 per person. What a rip off.....might ad well go to the Top 10 for a fraction more.
Interesting also that 2 more vehicles pulled in at around 10pm and nobody turned up to collect their fees. Weird.....yes it's a lovely spot by the lake but please make it fair for everybody!
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Lovely campsite by the lake.
Was quite busy when we visited (New Years). First come first serve (no bookings). Ranger comes around in the evening around 7pm ish to check you in and collect fees. Long drop toilets. No showers but there is cold showers 2 min drive down the road at the Boyes beach site (campervan only site). Very peaceful except for the young guy doing burnouts at 1am in his car!
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Nice spot.
Could be a bit cheaper but for a site right on the lake it's just what you want, close to Rotorua but quite secluded. Quite popular in high season so definitely get in before 5pm.
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Great cheap camping spot right by the lake.
Basic facilities but fantastic views made up for it! Get there early to make sure you get a spot - it fills up quickly
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$15 each per night.
Quite pricy considering very basic with only long drop toilets. No running water. Pretty spot overlooking lake, can swim in it. Quite busy so recommend getting there early - ish for a good spot. Vans basically parked right next to each other. Location is a bit out of Rotorua. Warden came round about 8pm to collect payment.
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Scenic waterfront location, quiet, only one other campervan there with us.
Long drop toilets. Chickens and sparrows to keep you company. Nice spot.
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Beautiful peaceful spot.
Long drop toilets but not smelly which is a bonus. No running water only waste water disposal.
Reggie the Rooster was our constant companion. Say hello if you see him
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This was one of our favourite sites of our whole trip.
Beautiful and peaceful Lake, small site, a hiking trail leads through the forest to the next beach site, easy swimming and relaxing without the sounds of roads. If you’re in a camper van, there are only a few spots that allow you to back directly up to the water (though we got there late both times and were able to squeeze in to front row Lake views). Otherwise you’ll be behind one row of cars. Plenty of lawn space for tents. We stayed over Christmas and despite the crowd, it still felt cozy. Pit toilets are one drawback, though they were very clean, and there was a covered cooking area. If you’re looking for a quiet and beautiful spot, you found it!
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Very basic, but so so stunning.
Easy to get to. No running water at all, only a drop toilet, and lake water that needs to be boiled before use. There are facilities (running water, showers, etc) at Boyne's Beach up the road, but you need a Penny Key/kiwi cash thing to pay for them (we got ours at the I site at the redwoods in Rotorua)
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A nice view of the lake with lots of ducks and small birds around, has a short trail along the hike.
Has campervan spots of gravel divided into groups of two, fortunately there was only four people there so it wasn’t super crowded. There’s a caretaker camper there but came to find out that the normal caretaker took his wife to the hospital in the night so another nice elder was collecting tolls and cleaning. Bit expensive but as I watched the poor guy clean the toilets gagging and coughing like it was full of mustard gas made me less disappointed by the cost to have a clean toilet. There was a group of local youths came by late at night with bright flashlights but never stoped or did anything. Overall felt relatively safe. The temp caretaker came around 8:00 am.
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Beautiful campsite !
A shelter for cooking under, two clean toilets, incredible views of the lake. Fellow campers were all respectful and Les the ranger was super friendly and helpful. Recommend a dip in the lake in the morning to wake you up !
-
Amazing view of the lake!
Cute ducklings out when we went, track is a little bumpy to get down and toilets could do with a clean perhaps but overall very lovely stay. Lots of backpackers and mountain bikers who were friendly.
Man comes round in the evening and morning to check permits/bookings
-
Nice camp on the lake w pleasant views and lovely for an evening swim.
Basic toilet and no water but there is drinking water and rubbish at boyes beach a few minutes drive away. Ranger came round and checked bookings/passes at around 7:30. Nice ranger - loved a natter and was great vibes! Well located for lakes and Tarawera trail.
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Perfect location right on the lake, local ranger was super helpful and gave tips on the best places to visit in the local area.
Has a somewhat sheltered communal area (roof no sides) for meals, and a long drop toilet. Lake is clean if you can brave a swim, or a quick dip. Easy access to Rotorua and surrounding area.
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Place is very nice, right by the lake, rather calm, no nearby road to hear cars passing but it's busy most of the time and toilets are full of insects.
No water - for thst you can go to nearby Boys Beach where is drinking water, clean toilets, trash and showers. The major problem in this campsite in my opinion is some "genious" idea to put 5 extremely bumpy speed bumps on the way down/up what makes your way out of the camp in a van rather hard and unpleasant - my van had problems to go through the bump on a very steep road up the hill - doing it without hitting it hard is rather problematic, big minus for that and DOC paranoia when it comes to those things...
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Would not recommend.
Local youth seems to gather to drink at the beach (despite chilly and windy Sunday night). Also lots of late night car movements and dirty drop toilets
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Wonderful place for camping and swimming.
You'll need to get there early to reserve a spot on the lake. Easy access. However, the toilets are very dirty and there are rats at night. Showers and flush toilets are at Boys Beach (20-minute walk).
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Nice place by the lake.
Especially in nice weather it would be a nice spot, but there is also a shelter. Toilets were not so clean.
-
Very expensive for a DOC campsite with basically no facilities apart from a Long drop loo.
Interesting also that we turned up at around 5.30pm and less than 10 minutes later the "contractiol" warden turned up to collect the fee of $15 per person. What a rip off.....might ad well go to the Top 10 for a fraction more.
Interesting also that 2 more vehicles pulled in at around 10pm and nobody turned up to collect their fees. Weird.....yes it's a lovely spot by the lake but please make it fair for everybody!
-
Lovely campsite by the lake.
Was quite busy when we visited (New Years). First come first serve (no bookings). Ranger comes around in the evening around 7pm ish to check you in and collect fees. Long drop toilets. No showers but there is cold showers 2 min drive down the road at the Boyes beach site (campervan only site). Very peaceful except for the young guy doing burnouts at 1am in his car!
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Nice spot.
Could be a bit cheaper but for a site right on the lake it's just what you want, close to Rotorua but quite secluded. Quite popular in high season so definitely get in before 5pm.
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Great cheap camping spot right by the lake.
Basic facilities but fantastic views made up for it! Get there early to make sure you get a spot - it fills up quickly
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$15 each per night.
Quite pricy considering very basic with only long drop toilets. No running water. Pretty spot overlooking lake, can swim in it. Quite busy so recommend getting there early - ish for a good spot. Vans basically parked right next to each other. Location is a bit out of Rotorua. Warden came round about 8pm to collect payment.
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Scenic waterfront location, quiet, only one other campervan there with us.
Long drop toilets. Chickens and sparrows to keep you company. Nice spot.
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Beautiful peaceful spot.
Long drop toilets but not smelly which is a bonus. No running water only waste water disposal.
Reggie the Rooster was our constant companion. Say hello if you see him
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I arrived to this campsite today with my boyfriend and we set our tent.We went out for an hour to buy some food and when we came back, our tent wasn't there.It isn't a safe place.
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Nice view but no morning or afternoon sunlight so pretty cold everything gets really wet.
Basins for washing but no running water. Loads of loud people showing up around 9pm and leaving at 6am to avoid camping fees. Pretty bad experience.
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This was one of our favourite sites of our whole trip.
Beautiful and peaceful Lake, small site, a hiking trail leads through the forest to the next beach site, easy swimming and relaxing without the sounds of roads. If you’re in a camper van, there are only a few spots that allow you to back directly up to the water (though we got there late both times and were able to squeeze in to front row Lake views). Otherwise you’ll be behind one row of cars. Plenty of lawn space for tents. We stayed over Christmas and despite the crowd, it still felt cozy. Pit toilets are one drawback, though they were very clean, and there was a covered cooking area. If you’re looking for a quiet and beautiful spot, you found it!