Paparoa Track booking guide for 2026/27

Bookings for each Great Walks season open on a single morning in May, walk by walk, and the Paparoa goes first. For 2026/27 it opened at 9:30am NZST on 12 May 2026, the day before the Milford. 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 DOC announcing exact dates on its blog a few weeks ahead. Our guide to when Great Walks bookings open tracks the dates for every walk.

Because the Paparoa is booked year-round, there is no closed season to wait out. Missed opening morning? Everything left is already on sale, plus whatever comes back through cancellations.

1. Make a DOC account first. Do it at bookings.doc.govt.nz and check you can log in. A booking can't be handed to another account holder later, so book under the person who'll manage the trip.
2. Choose two nights or three. DOC gives two walking options: two nights, at Moonlight Tops then Pororari, or three nights using all three huts. What you can't do is skip Moonlight Tops: Ces Clark to Pororari is 28.8 km and about 10 hours, and DOC says it isn't feasible.
3. Choose a start date and your party. Every person needs their own 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 has to walk with an adult.
4. Book each hut night in order. DOC describes the track from the Smoke-ho car park above Blackball: Ces Clark (10.3 km in), Moonlight Tops (a further 9.7 km), then a 19.1 km day across the tops to Pororari, and 16 km out to the coast. Mountain bikers usually do it in two days with one night on the track.
5. Pay and keep the confirmation. Bring photo ID that matches the name on the booking.

Then sort transport. The Smoke-ho car park is at the end of Blackball Road, 8 km north of Blackball, and it's small and for day use only, so DOC suggests leaving your car at your accommodation. Walkers finish at the Pororari River car park on SH 6, 1.2 km north of the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. Riders have to exit down the Punakaiki River valley to the Waikori Road car park, 2.4 km south of the Pancake Rocks. Several shuttle operators run between the two ends; DOC lists them on its Paparoa Track page.

Prices are in NZD, per person, per night, as listed on DOC's Paparoa Track page while 2026/27 bookings are open. Unlike most Great Walks, each hut has its own price, and the summer rates run from 1 October to 30 April.

Children (NZ rate 5 to 17, international 0 to 17) pay roughly half the adult price, and NZ-rate infants are free. The NZ rate is for New Zealanders and people ordinarily resident here, and you need proof of eligibility; without it you pay the difference plus an administration fee.

In summer the standard two-night trip comes to $139 per adult on the NZ rate or $209 international, and the three-night version $189 or $285. In July and August two nights is $100 for everyone. Got a Backcountry Hut Pass? It works at Ces Clark only: book online as normal, then email DOC for a refund with your booking reference and a copy of the pass.

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 the day of arrival. 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; bad weather that doesn't close it doesn't qualify. No-shows lose the lot.

DOC has no waitlist. When someone cancels, their bunks go straight back on sale to whoever is looking at that moment. On the Paparoa that happens more than you'd think. West Coast forecasts talk people out of a day on the exposed tops, riding groups reshuffle, and plans change. Because the standard trip needs Moonlight Tops and Pororari on consecutive nights, one freed bunk in the right hut can reopen a date that has looked sold out for weeks.

The hard part is being there when it happens. Spotbagger does the looking. Set a watch on your dates and party size and we check the DOC booking system often, then tell you the moment a two-night Moonlight Tops and Pororari trip opens up, in either order. You book it yourself on DOC's site, before anyone else has spotted it. See the Paparoa Track page for how the watch works on this track.

Two other things widen your odds. Because the track is booked all year, the quieter months from May to September are an option, with cheaper huts, but DOC warns that snow and ice are possible on the range at any time of year, so check conditions before you go. And if your window is fixed and the Paparoa stays full, our guide to NZ Great Walks that have sold out covers how cancellations work across all of them.

Do you need to book the Paparoa Track?

Yes. DOC says all three huts must be booked in advance, and you need a booking for every night, all year. There are no campsites on the track. Walking it without a valid booking can mean a penalty fee, or being turned away if the hut is full.

How much does the Paparoa Track cost?

It depends on the hut. In summer (1 October to 30 April) an adult pays $78 at Moonlight Tops, $61 at Pororari and $50 at Ces Clark on the NZ rate, or $117, $92 and $76 international. The usual two-night trip is $139 or $209 per adult, before transport.

When do Paparoa Track bookings open?

For 2026/27 they opened at 9:30am NZST on 12 May 2026, the first of all the Great Walks. Expect the 2027/28 season to open around mid-May 2027, on a date DOC announces on its blog.

Can mountain bikers stay in the Paparoa huts?

Yes. It's a shared-use track, and riders book the same huts as walkers, usually for one night. E-bikes and night riding aren't allowed, and riders finish at the Waikori Road car park rather than the Pororari River car park.

Is there a waitlist for the Paparoa Track?

No. DOC doesn't run waitlists. Cancelled bunks go straight back onto the booking system, which is why a watch on your dates is the most reliable way to catch one.