Huka/Aratiatia Rapids Scenic Reserve
Overnight Campervan Parking
Maps
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Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC Central North IslandCentral government organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Taupo |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Freedom Camping
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
Very beautiful spor.
I loved it. You need to leave before 9h30. Beautiful lake. One of my favorite so far
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5.0/5
Nice spot.
Pit/drop toilet with paper was clean. 8 other campers overnight. We watched 10am Dam release which was great.
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3.5/5
Very basic campsite (but free, so what can you expect), just a parking lot.
1 public toilet with no lights, no flush, no toilet paper.
Rules around leaving camping before 9.30am a bit unclear, especially because you want to see the rapids release at 10am.
View on the lake is nice, lots of different birds to spot. Be aware of the vehicle exit, the lane at the end of the parking lot next to the trail signs: there are very deep and large holes in the road. Can cause damage to your vehicle.
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4.0/5
One single long drop toilet which was fairly clean and didn’t stink!
A few level spots but not loads. We arrived at around 4pm and there were a few campers, when we woke up that had multipled - this is during spring so get there early in summer. Great location from the main town but have to leave at 9:30am, could possible stay till 10 to watch the rapid release! Perfect for a night :) - Follow us IG/YT Milly0nthem0ve
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2.5/5
A guy told us a possum jumped onto him when he was walking to the toilet.
Basic parking lot near a nice lake
Lots of spots
Not all spots level tho
Believe it or not.
Fog was quite thick. Went on a walk. Couldn’t see much. But when the fog let up saw a beautiful bird. Basic. Free (
;)
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4.0/5
Really great location with more spaces than expected.
We arrived about 5pm and there were only a few others parked up there. The long drop is clean and whilst the door can bang shut like other reviews say, you just need to close it slowly. Take your own paper! We didn’t have any noise issues during the night. As it was the off season in the middle of winter we took our chances and stayed past the 9.30am cutoff so we could cross the road and watch the Aratiatia rapids release at 10am. Would highly recommend! Lovely bird life to enjoy and a picnic table to take breakfast before departing.
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3.5/5
Lovely view of the lake, drop toilet isn’t very pleasant so avoid if possible.
Plenty of space in the car park. Must leave by 9:30am
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4.0/5
A great spot overlooking the dam.
A sealed parking. Mostly flat. Clean and tidy.very clean long drop with a noisy closing door!! Much better than Reid’s farm which sadly is dirty and with undesirable clientelle.
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4.5/5
Great DOC campsite, drop toilet and nice setting by the lake and dam.
Was a quiet night sleep with a handful of other campers, half full when we stayed in march. Super close to Taupo.
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4.0/5
Great place by the dam with toilets and tables to eat.
If you can get there by 16:00 you can see the last rapids of the day. Quiet and plenty of place.
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4.0/5
Good location.
We ate breakfast with a view by the Aratiatia rapid dam. No toilets
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3.0/5
The good: reservoir is pretty, especially at sunrise; amazing stargazing; close-ish to Taupō; free The not so good: is just a car park on the side of the highway with no noise barrier from the road
(wasn’t too bad at night, but I didn’t stay during the day so can’t comment on that); one long drop toilet (no tp, sanitizer or light) with the loudest metal door that slams shut unless you actively prevent it; most of the sites have a slant to them, some worse than others, which is hard to gauge when parking at night; garbage has to be packed out
Overall, not bad but nothing to write home about either
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5.0/5
Very beautiful spor.
I loved it. You need to leave before 9h30. Beautiful lake. One of my favorite so far
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5.0/5
Nice spot.
Pit/drop toilet with paper was clean. 8 other campers overnight. We watched 10am Dam release which was great.
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3.5/5
Very basic campsite (but free, so what can you expect), just a parking lot.
1 public toilet with no lights, no flush, no toilet paper.
Rules around leaving camping before 9.30am a bit unclear, especially because you want to see the rapids release at 10am.
View on the lake is nice, lots of different birds to spot. Be aware of the vehicle exit, the lane at the end of the parking lot next to the trail signs: there are very deep and large holes in the road. Can cause damage to your vehicle.
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4.0/5
One single long drop toilet which was fairly clean and didn’t stink!
A few level spots but not loads. We arrived at around 4pm and there were a few campers, when we woke up that had multipled - this is during spring so get there early in summer. Great location from the main town but have to leave at 9:30am, could possible stay till 10 to watch the rapid release! Perfect for a night :) - Follow us IG/YT Milly0nthem0ve
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2.5/5
A guy told us a possum jumped onto him when he was walking to the toilet.
Basic parking lot near a nice lake
Lots of spots
Not all spots level tho
Believe it or not.
Fog was quite thick. Went on a walk. Couldn’t see much. But when the fog let up saw a beautiful bird. Basic. Free (
;)
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4.0/5
Really great location with more spaces than expected.
We arrived about 5pm and there were only a few others parked up there. The long drop is clean and whilst the door can bang shut like other reviews say, you just need to close it slowly. Take your own paper! We didn’t have any noise issues during the night. As it was the off season in the middle of winter we took our chances and stayed past the 9.30am cutoff so we could cross the road and watch the Aratiatia rapids release at 10am. Would highly recommend! Lovely bird life to enjoy and a picnic table to take breakfast before departing.
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3.5/5
Lovely view of the lake, drop toilet isn’t very pleasant so avoid if possible.
Plenty of space in the car park. Must leave by 9:30am
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4.0/5
A great spot overlooking the dam.
A sealed parking. Mostly flat. Clean and tidy.very clean long drop with a noisy closing door!! Much better than Reid’s farm which sadly is dirty and with undesirable clientelle.
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4.5/5
Great DOC campsite, drop toilet and nice setting by the lake and dam.
Was a quiet night sleep with a handful of other campers, half full when we stayed in march. Super close to Taupo.
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4.0/5
Great place by the dam with toilets and tables to eat.
If you can get there by 16:00 you can see the last rapids of the day. Quiet and plenty of place.
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4.0/5
Good location.
We ate breakfast with a view by the Aratiatia rapid dam. No toilets
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4.5/5
Great place to stay for the night!
There is a longdrop toilet, don't forget to bring your own paper 😀
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4.0/5
Nice parking lot for overnight stay near the dam spillway.
It is beside a road, but only a few cars came through during the night and they didn't bother us, and the spot was very quiet and the drop toilet was clean.
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4.0/5
16-11-23 Nice place and view!
Got one time For the water runninh, was incredible. As a self contains perfect spot. Only a hidrop toilet. Not busy, enough space
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4.0/5
Good place to stay, quiet area.
Took the advice and didn't park near the toilet because of the loud toilet door if people shut it gently. Also the parks in the middle are on a lean lol
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4.5/5
Nous avons passé 3 nuits ici et avons beaucoup apprécié Emplacement idéal pour visiter la région Beaucoup de places, certaines sont peu plates en revanche Proches des rapides et du lac Environnement
calme, pas de bruit la nuit
Les toilettes sont pratiques mais beaucoup de mouches les soirs autour et dans la cuvette
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5.0/5
Nice spot, quiet and not to far out of town.
Arrived at 7pm and still plenty of spots available. Felt very safe, lot of other campers.
Loved that there were no early birds leaving the campground, so sleeping in till 9am felt totally appropriate :)
10 points since we’re self contained and didn’t have to use the drop toilet…
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3.5/5
Nice free spot by the water.
There are no bins and there is no running water, but the droptoilet was clean and the parking spot felt safe.
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4.5/5
Peaceful campsite, plenty of space.
Long drop toilet is okay but the door slams very loudly so don’t park next to it or you’ll be woken up in the night. There isn’t any toilet roll either. Perfect location for visiting Huka falls and the rapids.
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4.0/5
Basic parking area with one longdrop toilet.
Even in winter it's busy, being the best Freedom Camping close to Taupo. Good enough for one night!
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3.5/5
Smaller parking area, roughly 30 parks, typically 5-10 campers nightly.
Single open air long drop toilet. No water. Quiet with lots of daytime site-seeing visitors and a manned jetboat booth so relatively safe to leave your camper and enjoy the Riverside bike trail. 10, 12 and 2pm floodgates open for viewing about 1min walk.
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5.0/5
We stayed here twice whilst in Taupo.
Great sunset waterfront views and usually fairly populated without being crowded. A bonus is that there is also a human falls river cruise that runs from the same carpark in the morning/afternoon, which is definitely worth going on.
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4.5/5
Great camping spot within coee of Taupo.
Reasonably busy when we stayed but still plenty of room. There are nice walking tracks through native bushland giving good access for viewing the rapids. Just a short hop from Huka falls.
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4.5/5
Very nice spot - unfortunately there was someone that drove around the parking area blasting very loud music late at night.
A few late arrivals but quiet overall. Only thing that would make it nicer is a flush toilet.
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4.5/5
Went in May, about 10 cars on site.
Can probably hold 30. Nice view of the damn. Clean longdrops. Bring your own toilet paper. Damn alarm around 10pm, but not that loud and long. Would definitely recommend.
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5.0/5
Lovely little freedom camping spot with 24h toilet right next to Aratiatia dam.
Nice, quiet spot and wasn't ever too busy the 3 nights we stayed. Much nicer than the other Taupo spot!
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3.5/5
Great freedom camping spot at Aratiata lake and dam.
Toilets were clean, no water taps though. Visitors for the Huka falls cruise from 9 am until 6 pm, after that really quiet.
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3.0/5
The good: reservoir is pretty, especially at sunrise; amazing stargazing; close-ish to Taupō; free The not so good: is just a car park on the side of the highway with no noise barrier from the road
(wasn’t too bad at night, but I didn’t stay during the day so can’t comment on that); one long drop toilet (no tp, sanitizer or light) with the loudest metal door that slams shut unless you actively prevent it; most of the sites have a slant to them, some worse than others, which is hard to gauge when parking at night; garbage has to be packed out
Overall, not bad but nothing to write home about either
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3.5/5
Nice location, it gets busy with each space taken but lots of space in the car park and people were arriving late evening and getting the last spots on gradients.
The toilet was a very unclean long drop absolutely full of mosquitoes!!
