South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷
Camping Grounds
Sort Your Base First
Camping in the Queenstown Region is genuinely great, but where you park up shapes your whole trip. Freedom camping near Queenstown central is basically off the table - the council has clamped down hard and the locals aren't keen. Get that sorted early and things get much easier.
The Holiday Park Options Are Solid
If you want to be close to town, Creeksyde has been around forever and has it well dialled - short walk through the reserve and you're in the middle of things. Driftaway is newer and honestly one of the best holiday parks I've seen in NZ, but it's a bit out of town so skip the drive and catch the ferry instead. Worth it. Down in Kingston, the Kingston TOP 10 Holiday Park is another good shout, about 40 minutes south - quieter, well set up, and rated really highly.
The DOC Sites Are Where It Gets Good
For my money, Moke Lake campsite is the pick of the low-cost options near Queenstown - DOC-run, about 40 minutes out on a gravel road, and nowhere near as crowded as you'd expect. Out toward Glenorchy, the Sylvan DOC campsite is the one I'd go for. Easy access, good swimming hole in the river, and the key strategic move here is staying overnight so you can get an early start on the walks before the tour buses roll in. That's the Glenorchy play.
Queenstown Region Camping Grounds
36 items with the highest ranking score first, showing page 1 of 2.
Basic Camping
Camping Grounds
Freedom Camping
Chinamans Bluff
Mount / Mt Aspiring National Park - Overnight Campervan Parking
4.5 3 reviews
Camping NZ App
All the great camping sites on your iPhone™, iPad™ or Android™ phone or tablet. Avoid camping penalties using this council approved app. Featuring offline maps.
