Parking
Cameron Lookout car park is on SH6, about 70 km north of Wānaka. The nearest toilets are at Cameron Flat campsite, 2.5 km south.
Overview
About Cameron Lookout Walk
Why go
- A 50 m climb reaches a valley lookout in a 20-minute return walk.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mount Aspiring map
Full mapElevation356–407 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Mount Aspiring alert
- CautionRob Roy Track: stop at lower lookout during avalanche seasonFrom May through November, end your Rob Roy Track hike at the lower lookout; DOC strongly recommends against continuing to the upper lookout because the track crosses active avalanche paths.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Aspiring Tour Guide
Your drive to Cameron Lookout Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Aspiring 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 Mount Aspiring audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Cameron Lookout: Turn Around at the Platform0:00 / 0:25
“Ahead is Cameron Lookout car park, for a short climb through silver beech forest.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mount Aspiring Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Blue Pools: Beyond the First Bridge
- Makarora River Bridge and the Hut Track
- Why the Fantail Follows You
- How Mountains Make a Rain Shadow
- 80 audio storiesacross Mount Aspiring’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Rockwren, Yellowhead, and 8 more
- Works offlinemaps, 50 trails, 52 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 Cameron Lookout Walk
The walkCameron Lookout Walk is a 1 km out-and-back (0.
Cameron Lookout Walk is a 1 km out-and-back (0.62 miles return) from the car park, taking about 20 minutes. It climbs 50 m through silver beech forest to a platform above Cameron Creek, with a view down the Makarora Valley toward Mount Birnam.
Along the trackThe path starts level, climbs through the bush, then dips slightly to the platform; the return…
The path starts level, climbs through the bush, then dips slightly to the platform; the return retraces the same route. A bench sits near the high point. Small stream bridges and boardwalk sections are reported along the walk, and the descent can be slippery after rain.
At the lookoutThe platform looks over Cameron Creek and the open Cameron Flats toward forested mountains…
The platform looks over Cameron Creek and the open Cameron Flats toward forested mountains across the Makarora Valley. Include the creek below and the far mountains in a photo to show the valley’s scale. Beyond the platform, the rougher Cameron Valley Track continues toward Cameron Hut; that multi-hour tramp is not part of this 1 km return walk.
AccessStart at Cameron Lookout car park on SH6, about 70 km north of Wānaka.
Start at Cameron Lookout car park on SH6, about 70 km north of Wānaka. The nearest toilets are at Cameron Flat campsite, 2.5 km south. Dogs are not allowed in Mount Aspiring National Park.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mount Aspiring
60 sightingsKeaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
112 sightingsRockwrenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
26 sightingsYellowheadMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
13 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
27 sightingsBellbirdMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
35 sightingsRiflemanMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Aspiring. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
