The walk to Waterfall Creek is a very easy short walk of around 3k return, walking alongside Lake Wanaka.
It will take you around 45 mins to walk from Wanaka town to Waterfall Creek car park. Only 5mins into the walk and you’ll get to the famous and most photographed tree sitting in Lake Wanaka. Lake Wanaka, the third most popular tourist destination in the South Island. Mountain biking, Trout fishing, Hunting and skiing, just minutes from your back door. Sit in a Wanaka lake front bar and watch the sun set over the amazing Mt Aspiring and Lake Wanaka. You can continue this walk to Slaughterhouse Creek.
Quick Facts about this walk
• Location: South Island NZ
• Distance: 3 km
• Time needed: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
• Difficulty: Very Easy
• Wheelchair Access: No
• Route: Double back
• Elevation: Unknown
• Wet Feet: No
• Toilets: Yes
• Dogs: Leash only
• Mobile Coverage: Yes
• Last Updated: November, 2019
Photo highlights we've taken on this walk
You’ll see more photos further down the page where we’ve detailed the walk in the points of interest sections. If we’ve updated the walk with newer photos I’ve used my trusty Samsung Galaxy Note 10 smart phone, it’s got an excellent wide angle with no photo enhancing needed, just straight from the camera. Older photos will be from Garry’s GoPro Hero 4. Copyright to Freewalks.nz. If you wish to use any photo please ask first. Click anywhere on the photo gallery below to make it bigger.
Summary points about this walk
Points of interest along the walk
Car Park
The car park can fill up very fast, if so work your way 50 Mt back to town to the next parking area.
Cross the bridge, now the next 100 Mt is where the fun starts, you have to squeeze passed all the tourists fighting for the best position for that perfect photo of the Wanaka Tree, then it is plain sailing from there on.
Edgewater Restaurant
If you had a hard night last night and need a pick me up, call into the Edgewater for a coffee or a light snack, the open log fire will keep you warm. As you can see in the photo, it is easy walking along the water edge. And you will have the lake edge to yourself, no speedy mountain bikers.
Waterfall Creek Walk car park
You cannot miss the waterfall creek car-park; a 100’s car would not fill up this car-park. Past the toilet and around to the left is the road out to the main road and the start of the next interesting leg of the walk. The waterfall is actually back up the road in here, you can just see it if you drive in this way.
What sort of walking and hiking gear will you need
We’ve partnered with Macpac outdoor walking & hiking gear to bring you the very best products designed exclusively for our New Zealand climate. They’ll ship for FREE within NZ on orders over $100 (if under $100 it’s only $5). Worldwide international shipping is available except to the USA. Bulky orders will be $20.