Blue Pools Track

Blue Pools Track is an easy 3.2 km (about 2 mi) out-and-back from the car park on Haast Pass-Makarora Road to the viewing bridges above the river gorge. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours for the return walk and time at the pools. This is a short stop with a striking finish, not a climb or an all-day hike. The route follows a gravel path with some rocky patches through native forest, then opens at the water. If you are choosing between the two bridges, keep going to the second one: that is where the Blue Pools come into view.

The signposted path leaves the car park through low shrubland and then enters silver beech forest. After roughly 30 minutes, it reaches the first swing bridge over the Makarora River. Cross it and turn left; the second bridge is about two minutes farther on, above the Blue Pools. Cross that bridge for the view into the pools and gorge, then return the same way. The Blue Pools Track ends there. The Young River Link continues beyond the bridge, but it is a separate, much longer walk. Stay on the short track unless you are deliberately setting out for that extension.

These natural pools are fed by snowmelt from the Southern Alps and sit where the Blue River meets the Makarora. In sunshine after a dry spell, the water can look clear and turquoise. Heavy rain can turn it brown and cloudy, so treat the color as a bonus rather than a promise. From the second bridge, frame the water with the pale river stones and gorge walls; that shows the scale of the river as well as its color. The rivers can be unpredictable, and jumping from the swing bridges is prohibited.

Silver beech, or tāwhai, is the common tree along the track. The shrubland near the start is dominated by bloodwood, Coprosma wallii. From October through January, red-flowering native mistletoe, or pirita, may stand out among the foliage. Listen for bellbirds and grey warblers, and watch for rifleman and yellowhead. They are recorded here, though no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. Most of the walk is a shaded forest-and-river experience; the bridges provide the open views.

Use the free Blue Pools car park directly off SH6, opposite Cameron Flat. Toilets, including an accessible toilet, are at the lot, but there is no drinking water. The walk does not require a booking, and dogs are not allowed. The car park and track get busy in summer, so leave time for parking and for other people on the bridges. Sandflies can be fierce here; repellent is useful. Makarora, about ten minutes away by car, has limited food and fuel. Cameron Flat campsite is across the highway from the car park, not on the walk.

The wider Haast Pass corridor had a narrow pack track by 1876, linking Otago and Westland before the highway. That is the history of the pass, not the age or exact alignment of today's Blue Pools walking track.