We stayed here for two nights mid-week as we loved Hamner Springs so much that we extended our stay!

It is quite a small car park but on both days we arrived here at 5pm (we parked in town during day 2 and then returned to the car park in the evening) and there were still plenty of spaces (although we did see one or two bigger caravans turn around at about 8/9pm as it had got full and the spaces left weren’t big enough for them). There are nearby toilets which were clean, although one of the three toilets didn’t have soap, there wasn’t anything to dry your hands and on day 2 we noticed the flush in the disabled loos had broken leaving only 2 toilets. Despite being by a main road, we didn’t experience any noise disturbance during the night and we felt safe all the time. This was our favourite free camping site so far on our trip of NZ.

Reviewed 5 days ago

An ok spot with town still walkable.

Sort of behind a workshop area, which made it a bit tricky to find. It is not in the forest park. Keep going past the forest park entrance and then turn left.

Reviewed 2 months ago

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

Reviewed 7 months ago

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.

Reviewed 8 months ago

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

Reviewed 10 months ago

Peu d'emplacements, dont certains ne sont pas droits Proche de la forêt Toilettes disponibles et propres, proches du free camp

Reviewed about 1 year ago

Beautiful tranquil place to park up.

Close to.bush walks and birdsong all day. Toilets are flushable and clean. Idyllic! Only issue we had was a security guard knocking on our door at 9pm to say we weren't allowed to dry towels and togs off the van window! Very odd! Had.no valid I.D. and couldn't explain what the rule was we were breaching. He said next time.... there would be a $300 fine.

Reviewed 2 days ago

Very busy the night we've been there.

Nothing special but did the job if u just need a place to sleep.

Next to the forest and a small river. Toilets a bit dirty and non drinking water tap.

Reviewed 29 days ago

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.

Reviewed 7 months ago

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

Reviewed 7 months ago

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

Reviewed 9 months ago

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.

Reviewed 11 months ago

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.

Reviewed about 1 year ago

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.

Reviewed over 1 year ago

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.

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

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

Reviewed about 2 years ago

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.

Reviewed about 2 years ago

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.

Reviewed about 2 years ago

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.

Reviewed almost 3 years ago