Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area...

Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area

Overnight Campervan Parking

91 Rankers Reviews

5 Face-to-Face

14 Hanmer Springs

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Information

Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area

Freedom camping available by the workshop. No camping in the picnic area by the office. The local Community Board lock the gate to this picnic area each night.

Details

Feature Value Info

Organisation

DOC Canterbury

Central government organisation

Location

South IslandCanterburyHanmer Springs

Categories

  • Activity__freedom_campingFreedom Camping
  • Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-42.5186835506696

172.841470146179

Latitude
-42.5186835506696
Longitude
172.841470146179

Nearby

Reviews

    ✓ Quiet and peaceful

    ✓ Clean flushing toilets

    ✓ Close to town

    ✓ Great forest walks

    ✓ Dog-friendly area

    𐄂 Can get very busy

    𐄂 Limited parking spaces

    • Good spot.
    • Nice and quiet spot with clean toilets.
    • An ok spot with town still walkable.
    • Very busy.
    • 26Apr24.
    Rating Count Percentage
    10/10 18
    20%
    9/10 27
    30%
    8/10 29
    32%
    7/10 9
    10%
    6/10 4
    4%
    5/10 1
    1%
    4/10 0
    0%
    3/10 0
    0%
    2/10 0
    0%
    1/10 3
    3%
  • 4.0/5

    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 9 days ago

  • 4.5/5

    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 12 days ago

  • 3.0/5

    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 about 1 month ago

  • 4.0/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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 8 months ago

    Deb's avatar

    Deb

  • 4.5/5

    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 8 months ago

  • 4.5/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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

    L&M's avatar

    L&M

  • 3.5/5

    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

  • 4.0/5

    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 12 months ago

  • 3.0/5

    Arrived dark and rainy day.

    The other 2 free campsites were already filled. There was one tent camping in the area. I fell asleep well for maybe about an hour or so but woke up to big steps walking on the roof. Im sure they're not of possums. It was like the feet of a deer or something similar. It went on for almost 2 hours. Worst comes to worst, I was ready to crawl to the driver's seat and sped off to the town centre. The following day, i asked the locals about it as there was news about wild cat spotted in South Island. The footprints on the roof and on the windscreen resembles to it

    Reviewed about 4 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    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 9 days ago

  • 4.5/5

    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 12 days ago

  • 3.0/5

    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 about 1 month ago

  • 4.0/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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 8 months ago

    Deb's avatar

    Deb

  • 4.5/5

    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 8 months ago

  • 4.5/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    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

    L&M's avatar

    L&M

  • 3.5/5

    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

  • 4.0/5

    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 12 months ago

  • 4.0/5

    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

  • 3.5/5

    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

  • 4.5/5

    It’s a basic spot with some toilets nearby.

    Great quiet spot

    The area isn’t marked that clearly but photos helped to find the spot.

    Great place to start a number of nice walks and still just a short drive from Hanmer Springs.

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 3.5/5

    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

  • 4.5/5

    Nice and quiet spot with clean toilets.

    Probably room for about 10-15 vans. This location is the start of a number of nice walks and good mountain biking trails. (lots of sandflies)

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 5.0/5

    Great quiet spot.

    Shaded amongst trees. Very nice

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

    Ty's avatar

    Ty

  • 4.5/5

    Great little spot next to DOC workshop.

    Gravel car park and was lots of space. 3 clean flush toilets.

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

    Joe's avatar

    Joe

  • 4.0/5

    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

    Tom's avatar

    Tom

  • 3.5/5

    good spot to sleep, toilets available,

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    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

  • 4.0/5

    Lovely quiet spot in a wooded area, plenty of level parking for self contained camper vans.

    Nice walk in to town centre.

    Reviewed about 2 years ago

  • 3.5/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    Very busy.

    Toilets good. Walking distance to Main Street.

    Reviewed about 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    Nice site to freedom camp.

    Very secluded. 3 working toilets that are decent. You can find the campground on google maps which is very handy.

    Reviewed over 2 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    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

  • 5.0/5

    Nice spot, clean facilities.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Nice place for the night!

    Good toilets and it's pretty quiet.

    Reviewed almost 4 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    Great wee place for freedom camping.

    Not too far from the town of Hanmer. There were nice clean toilets and soap and basin to wash your hands too. Plenty of space. Only con were the sandflies so remember your sprays haha.

    Reviewed almost 4 years ago