Welcome Flat Hut bookings: dates, fees and cancellations

Welcome Flat is a book-before-you-walk destination. The main hut has 31 bunks, the Sierra Room sleeps one group of up to four, and the small campsite outside has its own booking. None of those spaces is held for people who arrive without a reservation.

Bookings are open now for stays through 30 June 2027. That does not make every day safe to walk: the Copland Track can close at short notice in heavy rain, and several hazards sit between the highway and the hut.

Choose the main hut, Sierra Room or campsite

The main Welcome Flat Hut has four upstairs bunkrooms. A booking secures any available bunk, not a numbered bed.

The Sierra Room has separate access and is booked for sole use by one group of up to four. It costs more, but nobody outside your booking shares the room.

The Welcome Flat Campsite is outside the hut. It also requires a year-round booking. Camping does not give you a hut bunk or access to a bed if the weather turns.

Current 2026/27 fees

Main-hut bunks use DOC's seasonal serviced-hut rates:

Children under five stay free. The Backcountry Hut Pass is valid only from 1 May to 30 September.

The Sierra Room ranges from $145 per night in the off-season to $262 on a peak-summer weekend. The campsite costs $15 per adult and $7.50 per young person, with children under five free. Check the official pages before paying because fees can change between booking years.

The track and hot pools

The Copland Track is 18km from the road end to Welcome Flat and normally takes about seven hours one way. DOC grades it intermediate. Access starts off State Highway 6, 26km south of Fox Glacier.

This is a weather-dependent valley route. Unbridged streams can flood, heavy rain can close the track, and two active landslide areas are marked as no-stopping zones. Read the Copland Track alerts and conditions before leaving the highway.

The natural hot pools are a short walk from the hut. DOC asks visitors not to use soap or shampoo and not to dig or alter the pools. Keep your head above the water because of the risk of amoebic meningitis.

The main hut has no cooking facilities. Carry a stove, fuel, food and the rest of your overnight gear.

When your date is full

DOC has no waitlist. Check the booking portal for altered or cancelled bookings, and compare the main hut, Sierra Room and campsite rather than treating them as one pool of space.

The portal also offers a Create Notification option that emails when availability changes. It does not hold the space. The first person to complete a booking gets it.

DOC's cancellation fee rises closer to arrival. If DOC closes the facility, contact DOC to request a refund or a transfer within the current season; the general terms say that request must be made within seven days.

Schnerp watches New Zealand availability for dates you set. It is a separate alert, not a reservation, and you still book directly with DOC. You can start a New Zealand availability request if you want to monitor more than one date.

For a shorter North Island hut walk, see our Pinnacles Hut guide. Our DOC booking systems guide covers the shared account, cancellation and opening-day rules.

Quick reference