Tasman Lake is one of the most beautiful places in Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park and the short flat walk makes it a very easy win. The milky blue lake is surrounded by the stunning Southern Alps, and if you’re lucky there will be a few floating icebergs too. It’s a dramatic spot and an absolute must when visiting Mount Cook.
There are a couple of short walks taking you to the lakeshore and up above the lake for a birds-eye view.
We’re sharing our all time favourite view of the lake - which is surprisingly not from the boat jetty - as well as lots of other great spots for incredible photo opportunities.
Having been many times, in all weathers, here’s everything you need to know about visiting Tasman Lake.
Tasman Lake and the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint
Here are the best things to do at Tasman Lake and the must-do things in this part of Mount Cook:
The incredible Sunrise spot at Tasman Lake
Walk length: 1.2km each way
Watching the sunrise over Mount Cook is unforgettable. In winter in particular, it’s an easy win as it rises at 8am in the morning (why can’t everywhere have a sunrise this late?!). But even in summer the walk is so short that it’s not a hardship.
The most jaw dropping views of Tasman Lake at sunrise, in our opinion, are not from the Tasman Lake boat jetty but from the Tasman River. We loved this spot so much we made it the cover photo for our website.
Happily the Tasman River is one of the most spectacular and easy to reach spots in the whole park.
The walk is 1.2km and almost entirely flat, a very easy win for sunrise, we’re used to having to walk for miles in the dark for a view half as good as this one!
You will be right on the lakeshore and it feels much more special than the lake jetty, which is still lovely, but feels much less wild.
We have details on the walk to this exact spot later in the post.
Top tips for sunrise at Mount Cook
Mountain weather is notoriously unpredictable. If you get up and the sky is completely clouded over, don’t give up. We had such thick cloud that you wouldn’t even know the mountains were there at all - you couldn’t even see an outline - but as the sun rose it burnt off the fog, and we got a crystal clear mountain panorama! It’s always worth a shot!
Bring extra layers even in summer. It can be brutally cold in the wee hours, especially if the wind is blowing. Bringing a thermos would be even better!
This is mainly in relation to photography, we found that the lovely soft light of sunrise lasts for much longer around Mount Cook. Bring a snack and head out on the Tasman Glacier Walk after visiting the lake, when you see how lovely the light is you won’t want to head straight back for brekkie.
Even if you visit the Tasman Lake for sunrise, make sure you come back during the day for the full effect of the milky blue water. You will still see it at sunrise, but it’s less pronounced.
Tasman Lake during the day
If sunrise isn’t your thing, then don’t worry because it’s absolutely spectacular during the day too. That incredible blue water colour is much more vivid in the sunlight which is why we’d always recommend doing both times of day.
The most important thing to consider - if you have the luxury - is the cloud conditions. You want as clear weather as possible.
Thick cloud will not only obscure the mountain backdrop, but also dull the colour of the lake. It is beautiful in any weather but at its most breathtaking during clear days.
The walk to the most photogenic spot at Tasman Lake
To reach the river, you need to park at the Tasman Glacier car park and follow the trail on the right for the Tasman River.
After 120m keep right following the signs for ‘Boat Jetty and Tasman River’. At the 1km mark keep right again following signs for the Tasman River. Just 200m later and you’ll be standing just above the incredible Tasman Lake.
The view is spectacular right from this spot, but if you don’t mind a very short rock hop down to the shore it gets even better.
It’s relatively steep at first, but you’ll see the initial gravel path which is quite stable and then as you move carefully down the rocks it gets less steep.
If it’s wet or icy, watch your step on the rocks, but generally speaking they are not very slippery and getting down takes just a few minutes.
There are plenty of huge rocks to sit, relax and enjoy the show.
The walk between the Tasman River and the boat jetty
After visiting the Tasman River, you can retrace your steps back to the junction and head to the boat jetty on a well formed gravel path, or take the shorter, more spectacular ridge in-between the two.
The ridge is fairly narrow and there is a steepish drop either side (not that high), but it’s in good condition and by far the most gorgeous route to the jetty.
As you walk along the ridge you are surrounded by mountains on all sides and it’s really quite extraordinary, making it one of Mount Cook’s must do hikes. It’s roughly 500m from the Tasman River to the boat jetty via the ridge.
The jetty offers another lovely view, but as mentioned not as good as the one you came from! The walk back from the jetty to the car park is 1.4km along the direct gravel path route.
Roughly 200m before the car park you will reach the junction with the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View Trail. It’s well worth also doing this short walk too if you have time, particularly if you have good conditions as it’s never guaranteed they will last!
The Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View Walk
Walk length: between 1.5km and 2.3km return
We found a slightly different route to the one usually taken for this walk, which is why we’ve added a distance range depending on whether you want to use the normal route or the slightly offbeat one, which visits an extra lake.
Start by taking the gravel path, which turns into a series of staircases following the signs for the Tasman Glacier View.
It is 630m in total to reach the viewpoint, all of which is uphill, but the spellbinding views along the way will ensure you stop for regular breaks! You’ll pass the turn off for the Blue Lakes 330m in but continue to the viewpoint first.
Tasman Glacier View
Tasman Glacier View is a sensational lookout offering a lofty view over Tasman Lake, the surrounding mountains and Tasman Glacier. Sadly the glacier is quite distant and getting more so each year.
Even so, if you aren’t planning on going on one of the heli hikes, then it’s a good chance to at least get a glimpse of it.
The view of the lake and mountains is really fabulous and there are lots of large flat rocks to sit on, which is great because it’s definitely a view worth lingering at.
It would also make for a lovely sunrise spot if you plan on doing more than one on your trip.
Continuing on to the Blue Lakes
Unfortunately, to see the Blue Lakes when they lived up to their name you needed to visit many, many years ago when glacial water still fed the pools.
As the glacier began retreating it no longer feeds the lakes which instead fill up with rainwater and algae, giving them their current green colour. It’s a very pretty green though, and they are still very much worth the short detour to see.
You’ll head back down the stairs to the junction and come to the foot of the first blue lake 120m later.
If the weather is clear the mountain backdrop adds to the beauty of the scene. Roughly 80m later along the well formed path you’ll reach the second blue lake and this is where most people turn and retrace their steps back to the car park.
If you want the more fun option which creates a circuit, we’d recommend skirting the edge of the lake and continuing on the obvious path, past a dried up lake, to a third blue lake. It felt like the biggest of the three and it’s just 270m beyond the second lake. The weather changed for us so it looks gloomy but it would be much prettier on a clear day!
From here at first it looks like you might need to head back, but instead follow the lakeshore round and over some rocks at the far edge of the lake. Follow the rocky path down to the road which is 350m from the third lake.
A couple of the rocks were slippery when wet and it’s not a well maintained trail, but it’s pretty and we always prefer seeing different scenery to retracing our steps where possible.
From the gravel road (which cars no longer use) you turn left and reach the car park 460m later.
Facilities by the trailheads
There are toilets and a shelter for eating in during bad weather beside the car park. There are no facilities, beyond benches, along any of the trails so please take all your rubbish out with you.
Where to park for visiting Tasman Lake
The car park for all the trails around the Tasman Lake area is the Tasman Glacier car park, a 12 minute drive from Mount Cook Village.
A note on Aoraki Mount Cook weather
The weather at Mount Cook changes really quickly so if you arrive around the Tasman Lake area and it seems very set in, then try heading over to the Hooker Valley. It might be just a 10 minute drive away but the weather can be completely different. We experienced a miraculous change from full white out to clear skies when driving between the valleys.
Before sunrise
Shortly after
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