DOC track

Lake Daniell Track

8.0km3 hr one wayIntermediate

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Notice

Check the DOC website for current alerts and conditions before you go. This site gets current alert info from DOC, but is not an official source of information.

This is a great walk for families with young children or those people new to tramping. The track is a well formed bench track that can also be completed as a day walk.

Elevation

Climb
174m
Drop
63m
Highest point
567m
Lowest point
452m
500m550m02km4km6km
Move over the chart to read the height.
Open Forest Water
Longest open stretch
430m

Cover mapped summer 2023/24.

Description

Lake Daniell Track begins from the shelter at Marble Hill Campsite. From the campsite shelter, the track enters the trees and soon crosses the Maruia River over a deep, narrow gorge called the Sluice Box. From the Sluice Box the track continues up the Alfred River. The track passes through spendid red beech forest until it reaches the lake edge and the Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut.

Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut

Getting there

The track starts at Marble Hill Campsite, 5 km east of Springs Junction on the Lewis Pass Highway (SH7). Turn off the highway onto a gravel road and drive several hundred metres till you come to a shelter on the left hand side.

Note that the 4WD track and hut on Station Creek/Sherriff River, 1.5 km north of the head of Lake Daniell, are located on private land. Access to this section of the track is only possible via Station Creek with permission from the landowners.

Know before you go
  • Mountain biking is not permitted on this track.
  • Wasps can be common between December to April. Carry antihistamine if you are allergic to their stings.
Nature and conservation

On the track to the lake you may encounter tomtit, rifleman, robin, tūī, fernbird, silvereye, grey warbler, bellbird, and even kākā or kākāriki.

Lake Daniell is within the Maruia Waka Huia special biodiversity area. Keeping the many rare wildlife and plant species of the Maruia area safe from introduced predators requires a massive conservation effort.

You may encounter some of the many predator traps along the way that are part of this effort.

Nearby

Weather

Forecast at the start of the track