If you go early in the morning you will see Diamond Lake at it’s mirror best. Diamond Lake is in the heart of the Mt Aspiring National Park, take a 20-minute drive from Wanaka shopping centre which is perched on the shores of the famous Lake Wanaka.

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•  Location: Wanaka, South Island NZ
•  Distance: 2.5 km
•  Time needed: 1 hour
•  Difficulty: Medium
•  Wheelchair Access: No
•  Route: Double back
•  Elevation: 386m
•  Wet Feet: No
•  Toilets: Yes
•  Dogs: No
•  Mobile Coverage: Yes

Diamond Lake Lookout

The turn off to Diamond Lake car park is tricky. As you descend into a valley, keep an eye out for the turn off on your right. Before you head off up the track, take a photo of the map on your cell phone, you will need to look at the photo as you walk around the track.

The first sign you come to is, just “Track”. What track? If you look at the photo on your cell phone, you will see it is the loop track around Diamond Lake.

We kept to the left and walked up to the next turn off. But, 20 Mt before the turnoff is one of only two places to take a photo of Diamond Lake at its best.

Take the right fork and off you go. The second place to try and take a photo of Diamond Lake is 50m along the track. From here on, it is quite boring. If you have the time and the energy, walk past the around the lake turn off and walk for fifteen minutes uphill to Diamond Lake Lookout, it is well worth the climb, then double back to the walk around the Diamond Lake and back to the car.

If you want to see a fantastic view of Lake Wanaka, you’ll need an hour more uphill to reach the Lake Wanaka Lookout.

See more of my walks in Wanaka