Heaphy Track booking guide for 2026/27

Bookings for each Great Walks season open on a single morning in May, walk by walk. For 2026/27 the Heaphy opened at 9:30am NZST on 20 May 2026, alongside the Whanganui Journey and Lake Waikaremoana. DOC runs a waiting lobby on opening morning: everyone who logs in before 9:30 gets a random place in the queue, so logging in early earns you nothing, but anyone arriving after 9:30 goes to the back.

The 2027/28 season should open the same way around the middle of May 2027, with exact dates announced on DOC's blog a few weeks ahead. Our guide to when Great Walks bookings open tracks them for every walk.

The Heaphy doesn't close for winter, so there's no off-season gap to plan around. Missed opening morning? The whole season is already on sale, and you're competing for what's left plus whatever comes back through cancellations.

1. Make a DOC account first. Set one up at bookings.doc.govt.nz and check you can log in. Bookings can't be transferred to another account holder, so book under the person who'll manage the trip.
2. Pick your end. It's one way, walked from either end: Brown Hut, 28 km up the Aorere Valley from Collingwood in Golden Bay, or Kohaihai, 15 km north of Karamea on the West Coast.
3. Choose a start date and your party. Every person needs a place on the booking, infants included. Ages are infant (0 to 4), child or youth (5 to 17) and adult (18 and over), and anyone 14 or under walks with an adult.
4. Pick a hut or campsite for each night. From the Golden Bay end the sections are Brown Hut to Perry Saddle (17.5 km), Gouland Downs (7 km), Saxon (5.4 km), James Mackay (11.8 km), Heaphy Hut via Lewis Shelter (20.5 km) and out to Kohaihai (16.2 km). A common plan is three nights at Perry Saddle, James Mackay and Heaphy, or four with a night at Saxon. Lewis Shelter is for emergencies only, not overnight stays, and campers can't use the hut facilities.
5. Pay and keep the confirmation. Bring photo ID that matches the name on the booking.

Then book transport, and treat it as part of the booking rather than an afterthought. The road ends are 156 km from Nelson (Brown Hut) and 110 km from Westport (Kohaihai). DOC notes that local operators fly into Tākaka and Karamea, buses and taxis serve both ends, regular buses run between Nelson and Westport, and vehicle relocation is available. Some operators don't run in winter, so check before you lock in off-season dates.

Prices are in NZD, per person, per night, as listed on DOC's Heaphy Track page while 2026/27 bookings are open. They drop in the cooler months, and outside summer New Zealanders and international visitors pay the same.

Children pay half the adult hut rate (NZ rate 5 to 17, international 0 to 17), and NZ-rate infants are free. The NZ rate needs proof of eligibility; book it without that and you pay the difference plus an administration fee.

A summer three-night hut trip comes to $132 per adult on the NZ rate or $198 international, and the four-night version $176 or $264. The same three nights in July or August is $90 for anyone.

Changing dates. You can move a booking to other dates in the same season, subject to availability, but not to someone else's account.

Cancelling. Great Walks cancellation fees are small well ahead of time and climb steeply in the last fortnight, reaching the full price on arrival day. Medical cancellations with a certificate are refunded. If DOC closes the track you can ask for a refund of unused nights or a move to other dates. Weather that doesn't close it doesn't trigger a refund, and no-shows lose everything.

DOC has no waitlist. Cancelled places go straight back on sale to whoever is looking at that moment. On the Heaphy they come back for all the usual reasons, plus one of its own: a trip that depends on a flight or a car relocation at the far end falls over more easily than most, and the bunks get released. Because your trip needs three or four huts on consecutive nights, one freed bunk in the right hut can turn a full date into a bookable one.

You can't watch the calendar all day. Spotbagger can. Set a watch on your dates and party size and we check the DOC booking system often, then tell you when a complete Perry Saddle, James Mackay and Heaphy trip opens up (or the four-night version through Saxon), from either end. You book it yourself on DOC's site. The Heaphy Track page shows how the watch works on this track.

If summer stays full, the Heaphy's year-round season gives you room to move. From 1 May to 30 November it's also open to mountain bikers, in groups of up to six, in daylight only and in both directions, so expect to share the track then. In the same corner of the South Island, the Abel Tasman Coast Track is another year-round Great Walk worth a watch, and our guide to NZ Great Walks that have sold out covers how cancellations work across all of them.

Do you need to book the Heaphy Track?

Yes. DOC says all huts and campsites on the Heaphy must be booked in advance, all year round. Without a valid booking you can be charged a penalty or turned away if the hut or campsite is full.

How much does the Heaphy Track cost?

From 1 October to 30 April huts are $44 a night on the NZ rate and $66 international, and campsites $19 or $28. A three-night hut trip is $132 or $198 per adult. Prices drop from May, to a low of $30 a night for everyone in July and August. Flights or shuttles between the ends are extra.

When do Heaphy Track bookings open?

For 2026/27 they opened at 9:30am NZST on 20 May 2026. The 2027/28 season should open around mid-May 2027, on a date DOC announces on its blog.

How does Heaphy Track hut booking work?

You book a hut or campsite for every night, all year round. There are six bookable huts: Brown, Perry Saddle, Gouland Downs, Saxon, James Mackay and Heaphy. Lewis Shelter is for emergencies only, so don't plan a night there.

Can you mountain bike the Heaphy Track?

Yes, from 1 May to 30 November. DOC grades it for advanced riders and suggests two days for fit, experienced riders or three for others. E-bikes, night riding and bikes inside huts aren't allowed, and riders book huts and campsites the same way walkers do.

Is there a waitlist for the Heaphy Track?

No. DOC doesn't run waitlists. Cancelled places are released straight back onto the booking system, which is why a watch on your dates is the best way to catch one.