West Bay Campsite
4.6 13 reviews
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West Bay Campsite
Enjoy water activities on the lake at this easily accessible campsite in the picturesque Nelson Lakes National Park. This is one of the two camping zones in West Bay Campsite. It is only open during the summer months.
The campsite is open from late November to the end of April.
Notices
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Lake Rotoiti boat show
The NZ Rowing Masters boat show is being held at Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park on 24 – 26 April 2026.
Public access remains open, with boat and beach access available at West Bay. Access to all walking tracks remain open.
The event can attract large crowds and event management may be in place at Kerr Bay. Online bookings for Kerr Bay campground and West Bay campground are essential. Parking at the visitor centre is not permitted for the event.
First published on 1 January 2026.
Accommodation
DOC Campsite Pricing
West Bay Campsite - Jetty zone 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 | $15.00 to $20.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $7.50 to $10.00 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 Nelson/TasmanCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ St Arnaud |
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Operating Season And Hours |
Open annually from 28 November to 30 April. Bookings are required. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
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Basic Camping
Google Maps
Reviews
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Fantastic site!
Celeste -
Nice spots amongst the trees.
Mike Howe -
We preferred Kerr Bay out of the two.
Valg -
Clean kitchen and drinking water!
Danika
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This is a really nice DOC campsite with clean flushing toilets, cold showers and a covered food prep and washing area.
Rankers was confusing but bullers is just this same campsite but further round the bay and without the nice jetty views!
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Everything else in the area was booked (requiring online advance booking), ranger pointed us here.
$10 per person, cash drop envelope. Pit toilets, no water, very basic. Spots are not marked, first come first pick, although there are some secluded parts surrounded by trees.
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Nice spots amongst the trees.
Plenty of access to the lake and walks in the area (check out the Buller River just nearby). Also not far from Mt Robert walk which gives you a quick high!
Can be a bit exposed for wind coming down the valley and over the lake.
The better choice if you don't like the crowds you'll often find at Kerr Bay.
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Gorgeous views with big area site spots , good toilets but only cold showers.
Wonderful little walk right beside the camp which was nice to wake up to do. Anne the camp host was super friendly and easy to find, highly recommend this as a must stay.
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We preferred Kerr Bay out of the two.
However, a nice bush setting with clean toilets and small simple kitchen area for washing dishes. Not so close to the lake and quieter than Kerr Bay.
Still a lovely area.
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Clean kitchen and drinking water!
Clean bathrooms. Clean cold showers. Eels at the dock! Easy to spot. Great campsites feel private.
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Great DOC site with flushing toilets, water and a shelter for cooking.
Each site is nice and private with quick easy access to the lake. The views over the lake at sunset are amazing! There are sand flies but they are not as bad as other areas, such as lake Rotoroa.
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Cool little DOC campsite with well defined plots that are bookable - you can choose the section you want to be in.
Toilets are nice and new with cold showers. Water is abundant. Super close to the lake (just across the road) with resident eels under the pier keeping the kids entertained. Little playground. Camp hosts are helpful. All in all a lovely DOC site. Well used so expect pegging to be an issue.
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Fantastic site!
Each site is semi-private with trees separations between. The sites are relatively flat and all are close to potable water. The toilet block looks new, is really clean and has flush toilets with running cold water and soap. The showers are cold water only but you can hang up a solar shower bag, they've got a bench with hooks and there's some separation between the "wet" and "dry" areas. There's also a dining shelter with sinks for doing dishes, a bench for sitting at and a stainless steel surface for cooking on, all enclosed with doors that could be shut in bad weather. You need to register either at the Visitors Centre (5 minute drive away) during their opening hours or with the site warden (friendly volunteers who do 1-2 week stints at the site). From the site you are right at the start of several walks and have easy access to the beautiful lake. One of our favourite campsites in NZ so far! Just make sure you have bug spray with you to discourage the sandflies!
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Great little campground, stayed two nights in Late Jan.
Each site is in its own little bush patch. Not many with grass but pegged into the dirt ok. Clean toilets and cold showers.
A little confusing on the Rankers listing: this is the West Bay jetty campground, and the West Bay Buller campground is basically the same campground but more like an overflow a few minutes walk down the road and further from the jetty.
Heaps of sandflies but with repellant and ignoring the swarms you get used to it. Good bird life around and eels by the jetty. Stunning scenery.
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Our first camp site on our road trip - what a find!
Absolutely stunning views over Lake Rotoiti. The sunset was unbelievable. (n.b. you can't camp right next to the lake but you can park up and eat dinner there then drive up to the parking bays to sleep)
Only downside is the number of sandflies - we had to abandon breakfast by the lake and retreat back to the camp in the morning.
Cost (2p, non-powered): $30
Location: Incredible
Facilities: Flush toilets, cold showers (didn't use), shelter for cooking with sinks (but no equipment). All very new/well-maintained.
Value: 8/10
Sandflies: LOTS
X-Factor: Absolutely!
Other: There's a petrol station nearby in St Arnaud but petrol is pretty pricey ($2.50 as of Dec '19). If you need hot showers or cooking facilities, Kerr Bay camp site is very close by.
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Amazing view of the mountains and the lake, extremely clean toilets, cost $15each for one night, only down fall is the sandflies are crazy if you don’t have coils
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Great location from te lake, nice campsite surrounded by the forest.
Basic facilities, no hot water, but if you don’t need it the place worth it.
Close to all the tracks
