Parking
Park at the Monowai Campsite/carpark at the end of Lake Monowai Road. The DOC track starts from the carpark area; access roads are remote and include gravel sections.
Overview
About Lake Monowai Lookout Track
Why go
- Short return walk with a quick lake viewpoint
- Mature beech forest and a quiet Fiordland setting
Heads up
- The mapped route is an out-and-back rather than the old loop description
- Roots and wet footing can be slippery after rain; sandflies are common
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Fiordland map
Full mapElevation198–208 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Fiordland Tour Guide
Your drive to Lake Monowai Lookout Track, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Fiordland National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Fiordland audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Monowai Campsite and Lakeside WalkListen
“The spot you're nearing is the Monowai Campsite. Even if you're not staying the night, there's a rewarding short loop walk here.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Fiordland Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Borland Mire: Fiordland’s Domed Peatland Time Capsule
- Green Lake Track: A Remote Backcountry Tramp
- Lake Monowai’s Drowned Forest
- Borland's Disappearing Streams
- 126 audio storiesacross Fiordland’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Fiordland Penguin, Blue Duck, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 68 trails, 124 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Lake Monowai Lookout Track
What to expectThis short out-and-back follows a formed path from the Monowai Campsite/carpark through mature…
This short out-and-back follows a formed path from the Monowai Campsite/carpark through mature beech forest to a rest area and viewpoint over the lower reaches of Lake Monowai. Allow about 1.5 miles/2.4 km total and roughly 45–60 minutes, including time to pause at the viewpoint. The mapped trail corridor is about 0.75 miles each way, so this is not a loop.
SceneryThe walk is a quiet Fiordland forest experience, with mature beech and a ferny understory…
The walk is a quiet Fiordland forest experience, with mature beech and a ferny understory leading to a clearing above the lake. The viewpoint looks across the lower reaches of Lake Monowai toward the surrounding hills; pause here before retracing the same path.
Trail notesDOC rates the track easy to intermediate.
DOC rates the track easy to intermediate. Expect a modest, occasionally uneven path with roots and slippery footing after rain. Fiordland weather can change quickly, and sandflies are common around still water, so bring sturdy footwear, a rain layer and repellent. Dogs are not permitted on this DOC track.
Getting thereStart at the Lake Monowai carpark beside the DOC campsite at the end of Lake Monowai Road.
Start at the Lake Monowai carpark beside the DOC campsite at the end of Lake Monowai Road. The road is reached from the Southern Scenic Route via the turn near Blackmount; follow signs for Lake Monowai or Borland Lodge. There are no shops along the walk, so arrive prepared with water and food.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Fiordland
1,181 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
199 sightingsFiordland PenguinMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
228 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
32 sightingsBottlenose DolphinMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
247 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKākāMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Fiordland. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
