Lake Pearson (Moana Rua) Campsite
Arthur's Pass
4.3 83 reviews
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Cymen Crick
Rankers Crew
A roomy campground, by a lake, in the mountains. Nice!
Lakefront spots are grand to back your camper onto, but they tend to go first of course.
The lake itself doesn't have a great swim vibe. I'd be looking for one of those pure streams closer to Arthurs Pass for a plunge.
Sandflies are far less rowdy here than other Arthurs Pass camping options (where they can be ravenous)!
The main negative is proximity to the road - that's where the lake side spots, further from the road with the sound of lapping of the water, are best.
Oh yeah, clear skies = starry, starry night
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Information
Lake Pearson (Moana Rua) Campsite
Camp beside a high-country lake in the Waimakariri Basin; a good base for bird watching.
A basic camping area along side Lake Pearson very popular with bird watching and fishing. Camp nestled underneath the mature willow trees, a huge gravel turning area good for large vehicles. Picnic tables scattered throughout the site.
There is a large 'Rest area' sign on the main road leading the way.
Accommodation
DOC Campsite Pricing
Lake Pearson (Moana Rua) Campsite 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 CanterburyCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Springfield |
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Operating Season And Hours |
Open for bookings year-round. Same-day bookings are available online until 8 pm if spaces remain. Bookings for the 2026/27 season open at 12 noon on Friday 15 May 2026. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Basic Camping
Google Maps
Reviews
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Quiet, beautiful spot for our first night in NZ.
Avery Wong -
Beautiful lake.
Lukas Blaauw -
Beautiful place.
Jakub -
Beautiful location, busy at Christmas.
Sarah -
Great campsite right on the water.
Amber
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Schöner Platz am tollen See, in dem man prima schwimmen kann.
Toiletten sauber, Wasser ist verfügbar (muss abgekocht werden).
Abzug nur wg. Der Nähe zur Strasse und (geringer) Geräuschbelästigung.
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Plenty of space, two toilets that are clean and not too smelly.
No keas, but plenty of sandflies.
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Beautiful place.
The view of the lake is amazing. The facilities are very clean and odorless. Good phone signal. The road to the campsite is a bit dangerous because there is no turning lane, so cars drive past you at 100km/h.
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Very nice campsite, next to the beautiful Pearson Lake.
We stayed one night and the campsite was good for this as a stay for our travel though the pass. We probably would not recommend it for longer, as it is next to the pass road which is quite busy, and the site has limited facilities (only toilet, and one non-drinkable water tap, no sink). Quite a lot of space mid-november, though I can imagine it fills up in summer during high season with travellers wanting to make a night stop.
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V basic, wild and windy but beautiful and lots of space to get a lakeside view… although there are signs reminding you to avoid parking under the trees.
$20 for 2. Drop toilet ok. Water stand. Great if like us you want to get away from holiday parks.
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Pretty campsite next to the lake.
Clean long drop toilets. Signs advising against camping under the trees for safety reasons. Wind here was exceptionally strong when I visited.
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Beautiful spot close to the lake.
Clean toilets.
The road is not far but it’s quiet during the night.
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Good spot to stop for the night, clean long drop loos plenty of space to park up by the awesome lake Was too windy for us to get out on it but I'm sure if the weather was great it would be mint
Bit of truck noise through the night from the road
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Small campsite right on the lake with good views and a toilet.
No cooking shelter. Very crowded and limited space to find any level of privacy. Some bugs. More of a place to sleep than a nice place to camp
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Beautiful spot to spend the night on your way through Arthur's Pass.
The lake was refreshing, and there were surprisingly few sandflies and mosquitos!
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Beautiful scenic location.
Long drop toilets bit smelly but it is what it is.
Snowed last time I was here and it was absolutely magical. This time, there were beautiful autumn colours, lots of ducks happy to be fed and swans on the lake.
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Beautiful lake and views!
Right off the road for easy access. Didn’t hear much traffic while sleeping and pretty clean long drop toilets.
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My favourite campsite of our trip.
Absolutely nothing fancy. In essence a car park just off Arthur's pass road. But quiet. Lots of space. 2 long drop toilets that were clean enough. On the edge of the lake which is beautiful and great views of the hills behind. Fantastic views of the night sky also.
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Beautiful spot to stop!
Pull up next to the lake, open the doors and windows and admire the spectacular scenery…. Very sheltered (& we tested this in hitop during strong winds!!)
… hubbies only complaint, steak was over done !
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It's already not for free i was surprised when i realized that.
Without water supply i was not happy...
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Windy and noisy from the road.
Not what you would expect from a DOC, more of a freedom camp. If you want something tranquil I would go somewhere else.
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Schöner Platz am tollen See, in dem man prima schwimmen kann.
Toiletten sauber, Wasser ist verfügbar (muss abgekocht werden).
Abzug nur wg. Der Nähe zur Strasse und (geringer) Geräuschbelästigung.
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Plenty of space, two toilets that are clean and not too smelly.
No keas, but plenty of sandflies.
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Beautiful place.
The view of the lake is amazing. The facilities are very clean and odorless. Good phone signal. The road to the campsite is a bit dangerous because there is no turning lane, so cars drive past you at 100km/h.
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Very nice campsite, next to the beautiful Pearson Lake.
We stayed one night and the campsite was good for this as a stay for our travel though the pass. We probably would not recommend it for longer, as it is next to the pass road which is quite busy, and the site has limited facilities (only toilet, and one non-drinkable water tap, no sink). Quite a lot of space mid-november, though I can imagine it fills up in summer during high season with travellers wanting to make a night stop.
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V basic, wild and windy but beautiful and lots of space to get a lakeside view… although there are signs reminding you to avoid parking under the trees.
$20 for 2. Drop toilet ok. Water stand. Great if like us you want to get away from holiday parks.
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Pretty campsite next to the lake.
Clean long drop toilets. Signs advising against camping under the trees for safety reasons. Wind here was exceptionally strong when I visited.
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Beautiful spot close to the lake.
Clean toilets.
The road is not far but it’s quiet during the night.
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Good spot to stop for the night, clean long drop loos plenty of space to park up by the awesome lake Was too windy for us to get out on it but I'm sure if the weather was great it would be mint
Bit of truck noise through the night from the road
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Small campsite right on the lake with good views and a toilet.
No cooking shelter. Very crowded and limited space to find any level of privacy. Some bugs. More of a place to sleep than a nice place to camp
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Beautiful spot to spend the night on your way through Arthur's Pass.
The lake was refreshing, and there were surprisingly few sandflies and mosquitos!
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Beautiful scenic location.
Long drop toilets bit smelly but it is what it is.
Snowed last time I was here and it was absolutely magical. This time, there were beautiful autumn colours, lots of ducks happy to be fed and swans on the lake.
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Beautiful lake and views!
Right off the road for easy access. Didn’t hear much traffic while sleeping and pretty clean long drop toilets.
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My favourite campsite of our trip.
Absolutely nothing fancy. In essence a car park just off Arthur's pass road. But quiet. Lots of space. 2 long drop toilets that were clean enough. On the edge of the lake which is beautiful and great views of the hills behind. Fantastic views of the night sky also.
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Beautiful spot to stop!
Pull up next to the lake, open the doors and windows and admire the spectacular scenery…. Very sheltered (& we tested this in hitop during strong winds!!)
… hubbies only complaint, steak was over done !
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Very beautiful lookout and cheap.
Longdrops not that clean, but okay. Just didn‘t really feel safe.
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Hard to think of a more scenic campsite, parking literally 4 meters away from the water was a great experience.
Really close to Arthur's Pass which is a plus.
Giving only 9/10 just because in all honesty there are plenty of free campsites out there with the same facilities as this one so not sure how the price is justified but still, definitely wort a visit
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Lovely place and a stunning view.
Unfortunately directly next to the street - a bit noisy and no way to clean your kitchen stuff or to wash your face properly.