Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area
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Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area
Freedom camping available by the workshop. No camping in the picnic area by the office. The local Community Board lock the gate to this picnic area each night.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC CanterburyCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs |
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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
26Apr24.
2 adults in motorhome.
Very busy. We were fortunate to get in with our 7.2m van.
In spite of being busy it was very quiet. Good loos too.
A reasonable walk to town for the purposes of the hot pools and/or after pool imbibing and/or eating.
Not aware of the other freedom site as mentioned in a previous review.
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5.0/5
Fantastic place.
Quiet and very dog friendly. Lots of bush and forest walks as well as all levels of mountain biking. There is even an area set up to work on your mountain bike skills.
Locals are very friendly.
Will definitely be back
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4.5/5
It’s a great spot very close to town nice and flat with toilets available.
Incredibly there seems to be Wi-Fi but I don’t know how to get the password
I stayed one night and it was completely completely full with about 20 vehicles of different types If you’ve got a camper, it’s perfect
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4.5/5
Great little spot just out of town, nice and scenic and still found a park at 7pm.
This may be the last one everyone tries like we did, personally think it’s the best of the lot in Hamner.
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5.0/5
Really nice campground, peaceful area near the forest so not too windy here, cute little birds around.
Flushing toilets that were clean and didn’t smell. We arrived late (20.30) and didn’t find a place for us on the other freedom campground so came here and we were really lucky to be here instead! Ranger came around 9pm to check if everything’s alright
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3.5/5
Good spot.
Very close to the city center. Great locations for hikes and bikes. Unfortunately the toilets are closed and everyone goes in the woods...
There are be public toilets in town where you have to drive or cycld
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4.0/5
Nice and quite campground, facilities with flushing toilets were fine.
Not too many spots so do not show up to late. Beware of sand flies. Nice walking tracks nearby and it was really dark during the night, big plus.
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3.5/5
Nice spot, not loads of spaces but was room when we arrived which was late evening, toilet block onsite fairly clean.
Was easy to find thanks to other photos.
Nice walks if you wanted to in the morning also.
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4.0/5
Peu d'emplacements, dont certains ne sont pas droits Proche de la forêt Toilettes disponibles et propres, proches du free camp
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4.5/5
It’s a basic spot with some toilets nearby.
Great quiet spot
The area isn’t marked that clearly but photos helped to find the spot.
Great place to start a number of nice walks and still just a short drive from Hanmer Springs.
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3.5/5
An easy 5 min drive out of town.
A small area which appeared busy. We stayed on a Friday night, arrived around 7pm and managed to secure the last spot. The toilets were very clean. It’s not the prettiest place to stay, but ticked the box for us as we were only staying one night.
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3.0/5
Arrived dark and rainy day.
The other 2 free campsites were already filled. There was one tent camping in the area. I fell asleep well for maybe about an hour or so but woke up to big steps walking on the roof. Im sure they're not of possums. It was like the feet of a deer or something similar. It went on for almost 2 hours. Worst comes to worst, I was ready to crawl to the driver's seat and sped off to the town centre. The following day, i asked the locals about it as there was news about wild cat spotted in South Island. The footprints on the roof and on the windscreen resembles to it
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5.0/5
26Apr24.
2 adults in motorhome.
Very busy. We were fortunate to get in with our 7.2m van.
In spite of being busy it was very quiet. Good loos too.
A reasonable walk to town for the purposes of the hot pools and/or after pool imbibing and/or eating.
Not aware of the other freedom site as mentioned in a previous review.
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5.0/5
Fantastic place.
Quiet and very dog friendly. Lots of bush and forest walks as well as all levels of mountain biking. There is even an area set up to work on your mountain bike skills.
Locals are very friendly.
Will definitely be back
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4.5/5
It’s a great spot very close to town nice and flat with toilets available.
Incredibly there seems to be Wi-Fi but I don’t know how to get the password
I stayed one night and it was completely completely full with about 20 vehicles of different types If you’ve got a camper, it’s perfect
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4.5/5
Great little spot just out of town, nice and scenic and still found a park at 7pm.
This may be the last one everyone tries like we did, personally think it’s the best of the lot in Hamner.
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5.0/5
Really nice campground, peaceful area near the forest so not too windy here, cute little birds around.
Flushing toilets that were clean and didn’t smell. We arrived late (20.30) and didn’t find a place for us on the other freedom campground so came here and we were really lucky to be here instead! Ranger came around 9pm to check if everything’s alright
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3.5/5
Good spot.
Very close to the city center. Great locations for hikes and bikes. Unfortunately the toilets are closed and everyone goes in the woods...
There are be public toilets in town where you have to drive or cycld
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4.0/5
Nice and quite campground, facilities with flushing toilets were fine.
Not too many spots so do not show up to late. Beware of sand flies. Nice walking tracks nearby and it was really dark during the night, big plus.
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4.0/5
Peu d'emplacements, dont certains ne sont pas droits Proche de la forêt Toilettes disponibles et propres, proches du free camp
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3.5/5
Nice spot, not loads of spaces but was room when we arrived which was late evening, toilet block onsite fairly clean.
Was easy to find thanks to other photos.
Nice walks if you wanted to in the morning also.
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4.5/5
It’s a basic spot with some toilets nearby.
Great quiet spot
The area isn’t marked that clearly but photos helped to find the spot.
Great place to start a number of nice walks and still just a short drive from Hanmer Springs.
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3.5/5
An easy 5 min drive out of town.
A small area which appeared busy. We stayed on a Friday night, arrived around 7pm and managed to secure the last spot. The toilets were very clean. It’s not the prettiest place to stay, but ticked the box for us as we were only staying one night.
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4.5/5
Nice and quiet spot with clean toilets.
Probably room for about 10-15 vans. This location is the start of a number of nice walks and good mountain biking trails. (lots of sandflies)
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4.5/5
Great little spot next to DOC workshop.
Gravel car park and was lots of space. 3 clean flush toilets.
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4.0/5
Good spot.
Arrived 1700 and was 2 slots left, but in the end around 15 campers squeezed in all ways.
Some very jolly (drunk) big rig owners but they quietened down by 11pm.
Nice toilets but no bins. Easy 15 min walk into town/ to the hot springs.
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4.0/5
Great little spot for freedom camping - close to working and clean toilets.
Not many flat sites.. we slept on a bit of a downward slope which didn’t bother us. Got here about 8pm after river site was full! No max on vehicles but would struggle to fit more than 8 here
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4.0/5
Lovely quiet spot in a wooded area, plenty of level parking for self contained camper vans.
Nice walk in to town centre.
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3.5/5
Solid free spot.
Our night was marred by the midnight arrival of some idiots running a vehicle with no muffler blasting Eminem while they setup in their tent and argued about it. Bummer, but not the fault of the site, just a hazard of camping in general, especially when it's free.
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4.5/5
Small parking lot next to the park workers storage kits.
Toilets were flushing and well maintained. Hard to find flat land. Only space for 3 caravans on flat ground. The forest walk around the site is lovely.
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5.0/5
Nice site to freedom camp.
Very secluded. 3 working toilets that are decent. You can find the campground on google maps which is very handy.
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5.0/5
Referred to on Google Maps as Hanmer Springs Parking Freedom Campersite and also as Hanmer Amenities area.
It was a welcome relief when we realised we could stay here after finding the River Reserve was coned off and closed - possibly due to bad weather and rising river.
Doesn’t appear to be a limit on number of campers, surroundings are lovely with trees and grassy areas. Quite level and 3 flushing toilets available including one disability toilet.
Not far from town and what looks to be some nice walks.
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5.0/5
Great wee place for freedom camping.
Not too far from the town of Hanmer. There were nice clean toilets and soap and basin to wash your hands too. Plenty of space. Only con were the sandflies so remember your sprays haha.
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4.0/5
Unlimited sandflies...so be ready...it’s like they come back to life even after smashing them.
Good place to spend the night
Clean flush toilets, water, soap, walka
Pine tree forest, birds singing
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4.5/5
Excellent small campground on the outskirts of town.
Lots of No Camping signs around including next to the entrance to the DOC camp. To avoid any doubt called DOC who clarified that behind the work area camping is allowed for max 4 nights but only between hours 5pm and 9.00 am. Some one might like to confirm this .
Thanyou DOC.another great site.
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3.0/5
Arrived dark and rainy day.
The other 2 free campsites were already filled. There was one tent camping in the area. I fell asleep well for maybe about an hour or so but woke up to big steps walking on the roof. Im sure they're not of possums. It was like the feet of a deer or something similar. It went on for almost 2 hours. Worst comes to worst, I was ready to crawl to the driver's seat and sped off to the town centre. The following day, i asked the locals about it as there was news about wild cat spotted in South Island. The footprints on the roof and on the windscreen resembles to it
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4.5/5
Great spot and only a short walk to town.
Lots of signs around the main roads saying no freedom camping though which made us weary. There was 3 campers that night including us and we never got checked on. Toilets are right there and clean. Got quite cold at night so rug up!