Lake Whakamaru Reserve
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Lake Whakamaru Reserve
Descend down toward the recreation area. A grassy area with lots of space, on the banks of the Waikato River.
Have you seen 'The Castle'? "How's the serenity" applies here. And Bennydale (or is that Bonnydoon....), is just down the road.
Self Contained Vehicles: 2 nights stay - no permit required. More than 2 nights, please apply for a permit.
Casual campers (tents and non-CSC vehicles) require a permit at all times. Casual camping allowed.
Facilities: Toilets, picnic tables. Activities: Swimming, Fishing
One permit is required for each vehicle at a camp site (maximum of six people can be covered by a permit). Campers are encourage to bring sufficient rubbish bags to suit their length of stay. From mid-December to mid-February rubbish bags will be collected from the authorised dumping point at each of the reserves on the following days:
Whakamaru Reserve - Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Permits can be obtained from the Council offices in Putāruru and Tokoroa*. Or the i-SITEs in Tokoroa and Tīrau or Pride in Putāruru office in Putāruru, or by applying online.
Details
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Organisation |
South Waikato District CouncilCouncil organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Tokoroa |
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Categories |
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Operating Season And Hours |
One permit is required for each vehicle at a camp site (maximum of six people can be covered by a permit). Campers are encourage to bring sufficient rubbish bags to suit their length of stay. From mid-December to mid-February rubbish bags will be collected from the authorised dumping point at each of the reserves on the following days:
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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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Beautiful views -
Plenty of space
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Free hot showers
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Well-run campsite
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Limited water supply -
Basic long-drop toilets
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Road has potholes
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Lovely place, so much space and great views.
Jitske -
Beautiful spot.
Vanessa -
Top notch free camping in the North Island.
Tyler Ram -
Great big grassy area to stay the night.
Isa -
Nice place to stay.
Amy
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Beautiful views with loads of space for campers to spread out, toilets and a lake to swim in.
What more could you ask for!
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Well-run campsite (thank you South Waikato Council) with hot showers and long-drop toilets.
Lovely scenic spot, plenty of room for folk to 'have a bit of space'.
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Fantastic free site with plenty of space along the lake side.
Permit required. Toilets -long drop- with paper even. Couple of BBQs with shelters and tables. Shower didn't work when I was there Feb 2024 but I didn't check the second one further along. I cycled and there is no water at site but you can get water provided by the council at tap by public toilets at Whakamaru town a few ks away. Not sure about lake water for drinking - possibly if treated? I did have a dip but lots of weeds. Still warm and refreshing. Check the water quality site. Really loved this spot.
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Nice place to stay.
Next to a lake and a river.
Free bbq
Clean toilet (not flush). No water on site.
They are also 2 showers but the water tank was empty.
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Beautiful spot.
Long drop toilet but does have a free hot shower which is amazing! Fairly quiet, just some road noise. Otherwise a peaceful, beautiful spot.
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great relaxing spot, nice and peaceful with plenty of space to choose.
toilets and shower onsite which is handy
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Beautiful & lovely Spot!
Plenty of space for everybody and a stunning lake and mountain view. The best is: hot showers are for free. Loved it! Also good for running, biking and hiking, campsite is part of the Waikato River Trail. Only drop toilets on site.
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Wow ☺️ brilliant camping spot 👌 highly recommended stay.
We found this spot after finding no luck at Mangakino reserve..to late for a space 😢😢
It was late Easter Saturday weekend afternoon and Whakamaru was busy with everyone parked close to the lake but we found a very good spot for our camper van to make ourselves at home. Got awesome evening photos 📸 and equally brilliant morning photos of the mist on the lake..stunning.
Will definitely be going back.
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If you’re looking for a spot near Taupo, this option is fantastic!
The campsite is huge and flat with stunning views of the lake. There is easy access for swimming.
Great drop toilets with TP and hand sanitiser. Hot showers are a bonus! Giving it 9/10 only because not all of the facilities were open.
There’s a small section of potholes on the gravel road towards camp, however they’re not major!
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Loads of space, beautiful view!
Although has drop toilets they didn’t smell BUT free hot shower!! Great free campsite!
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Great place to stay (at least for a night).
It was quite busy with a lot of families and their motorboats, but we had a nice swim in the lake and even warm shower for free.
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Beautiful spot!
Toilets are drops but doesnt bother me after Glastonbury, showers and views are just beautiful
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There are showers at the site now and the reserve has more grass than shown in the existing photos.
Hole in the ground toilets are basic but the hot shower and cooking facilities make up for it. I haven't searched the whole site but no water supply seen, although I suspect the lake water, once bolied, is OK.
I stayed at Mangakino Lake reserve the previous night ( I don't think they encourage freedom camping there anymore) and I wished I came here. Facilities better and no speed boat humdrum 🙂
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It's a beautiful campsite with lots of space and a stunning view with a lake and mountains.
It becomes pitch dark at night, make sure to bring a headlight. The longdrop toilets are okay, good enough for a campsite in the middle of nowhere. The road to the campsite is full of holes so be careful.
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Great big grassy area to stay the night.
Had a nice swim in the lake. Toilet with desinfection gel and warm showers (2min max per person).
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Lovely spot.
Shame about all the rowdy locals who think they have a right to stay up drinking and playing music loudly. Then they leave all their empty bottle every where. Then there is the loud jet boats going all day and no decent place to swim that isn't full of weed and dirty churned up water.
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Beautiful views with loads of space for campers to spread out, toilets and a lake to swim in.
What more could you ask for!
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Well-run campsite (thank you South Waikato Council) with hot showers and long-drop toilets.
Lovely scenic spot, plenty of room for folk to 'have a bit of space'.
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Fantastic free site with plenty of space along the lake side.
Permit required. Toilets -long drop- with paper even. Couple of BBQs with shelters and tables. Shower didn't work when I was there Feb 2024 but I didn't check the second one further along. I cycled and there is no water at site but you can get water provided by the council at tap by public toilets at Whakamaru town a few ks away. Not sure about lake water for drinking - possibly if treated? I did have a dip but lots of weeds. Still warm and refreshing. Check the water quality site. Really loved this spot.
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Nice place to stay.
Next to a lake and a river.
Free bbq
Clean toilet (not flush). No water on site.
They are also 2 showers but the water tank was empty.
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Beautiful spot.
Long drop toilet but does have a free hot shower which is amazing! Fairly quiet, just some road noise. Otherwise a peaceful, beautiful spot.
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great relaxing spot, nice and peaceful with plenty of space to choose.
toilets and shower onsite which is handy
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Beautiful & lovely Spot!
Plenty of space for everybody and a stunning lake and mountain view. The best is: hot showers are for free. Loved it! Also good for running, biking and hiking, campsite is part of the Waikato River Trail. Only drop toilets on site.
-
Wow ☺️ brilliant camping spot 👌 highly recommended stay.
We found this spot after finding no luck at Mangakino reserve..to late for a space 😢😢
It was late Easter Saturday weekend afternoon and Whakamaru was busy with everyone parked close to the lake but we found a very good spot for our camper van to make ourselves at home. Got awesome evening photos 📸 and equally brilliant morning photos of the mist on the lake..stunning.
Will definitely be going back.
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If you’re looking for a spot near Taupo, this option is fantastic!
The campsite is huge and flat with stunning views of the lake. There is easy access for swimming.
Great drop toilets with TP and hand sanitiser. Hot showers are a bonus! Giving it 9/10 only because not all of the facilities were open.
There’s a small section of potholes on the gravel road towards camp, however they’re not major!
-
Loads of space, beautiful view!
Although has drop toilets they didn’t smell BUT free hot shower!! Great free campsite!
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Great place to stay (at least for a night).
It was quite busy with a lot of families and their motorboats, but we had a nice swim in the lake and even warm shower for free.
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Beautiful spot!
Toilets are drops but doesnt bother me after Glastonbury, showers and views are just beautiful
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There are showers at the site now and the reserve has more grass than shown in the existing photos.
Hole in the ground toilets are basic but the hot shower and cooking facilities make up for it. I haven't searched the whole site but no water supply seen, although I suspect the lake water, once bolied, is OK.
I stayed at Mangakino Lake reserve the previous night ( I don't think they encourage freedom camping there anymore) and I wished I came here. Facilities better and no speed boat humdrum 🙂
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It's a beautiful campsite with lots of space and a stunning view with a lake and mountains.
It becomes pitch dark at night, make sure to bring a headlight. The longdrop toilets are okay, good enough for a campsite in the middle of nowhere. The road to the campsite is full of holes so be careful.
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Great big grassy area to stay the night.
Had a nice swim in the lake. Toilet with desinfection gel and warm showers (2min max per person).
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Plenty of space when we arrived on a Thursday afternoon, decided to go to the further end for easier entry into the lake without going through the weeds.
If the weather forecast says it will be windy, expect it to be stronger than you think, once the wind dies down it is idyllic.
Nice toilet and shower complex at both ends, though the end we went to had no toilet paper, hand sanitizer hot shower or lights at night, the other end did have hot water for the showers. Not sure who refills the toilet paper but we would suggest to take your own.
Lake is calm when the wind is low, easy for kayaking, there are weeds about but they aren't too bad. Waikato bike trail goes through the reserve between Whakamaru and Atiamuri, so take your bike and enjoy the ride.
Was a nice place to stay until bombarded with a group of about 20 people (on Friday afternoon) with music turned up, probably due to it being the end of the week, so we moved on.
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A wonderful area created by the local council with modern toilets and free hot showers and heaps of grassy areas to camp on.
The trees have mostly gone so it is very exposed to strong winds, which it was when we were there. However we found some shelter right up the far end. There’s a great bike trail starting from there too. Highly recommended!
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Me and another mum and in total 7 kids had amazing time last year end middle of January.
Swimming was great. There were many others there and made for a wonderful week away will definitely be going back .