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Key facts
- Distance
- 7.2 km return via same track
- Walking time
- 2.5 hr
- Track grade
- Easy
- Location
- Lake Brunner area
- Dog access
- No dogs. Other pets on conservation land rules.
Checked against official sources on 8 October 2026. Rules and conditions are set by Department of Conservation — confirm with them before you go.
Route overview
Walk round Lake Brunner, then dense forest to Bain Bay where there are remains of tramways and other historic equipment.
This DOC directory entry covers Bain Bay Walk in West Coast, within Lake Brunner area. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.
Distance, time and grade
- Distance: 7.2 km return via same track
- Walking time: 2.5 hr
- DOC grade: Easy
Access and alerts
Source checked 2026-10-08. This page is a dated snapshot, not a live track-status report. Check current DOC route information immediately before travelling. An absence of listed alerts does not establish that a route is open.
- Bain Bay Walk partially closed; First published on 19 January 2021. Last reviewed on 28 May 2026.
Dog access
No dogs. Other pets on conservation land rules.
Description
Start beside Lake Brunner (Moana) at the end of the short road opposite Lake Brunner Lodge on Kumara-Inchbonner Road.
For the first kilometre, the track runs around the swampy lake margin mostly on boardwalk, with the option of walking on the lake beach in between. Note, both track and boardwalk can be immersed and impassable when the lake level is high.
Cross Drake Point at moderate gradients, through dense forest featuring huge trees including kahikatea, matai and rimu, tall tree ferns and tangles of vines.
At Bain Bay, the boardwalk gives way to a gravel track running close to the lake edge. About halfway around, a double row of piles in the lake are the remains of an old L-shaped wharf. There are also remains of tramways and other equipment that delivered logs to be towed across the lake to a sawmill at Te Kinga.
Getting there
Starts on Kumara-Inchbonnie Road, on the south end of Lake Brunner. Lake Brunner is inland from Greymouth, between SH 73 and SH 7.
Turn off SH 73 at Kumara into Kumara-Inchbonnie Road (21 km), or at Jacksons into Lake Brunner Road, which leads into Kumara-Inchbonnie Road (18 km).
Sources and reuse
Route descriptions and practical information reproduced from the Department of Conservation, Crown copyright, under CC BY 4.0, subject to DOC's copyright policy. Formatting has been adapted, including flattening page sections; follow the original DOC page for maps, section-specific layout, current notices and linked documents. Outdoor Next is independent and is not endorsed by DOC.
The accompanying photograph is a licensed general hiking illustration, not a photograph of this route.
