Where is it?: Arthur’s Pass region, at the start of the Cass-Lagoon track (Lagoon Saddle end). Directions from DOC: Turn off SH73 about 14 km east of Arthur’s Pass village, onto Cora Lynn Road, drive partly through the station and there is a car park for trampers through the gate signposted ‘Cass – Lagoon Track’. Late summer there were tons of blackberries at the carpark.
The Tramp:
~300 m up a hill from the carpark to the hut (winning!). Maybe 10 minutes with tiny legs.
At the start of the Lagoon Saddle track which is a beautiful part of the Cass-Lagoon circuit (use Bealey Hut as a starting point to get an early start on the track) or works well as a standalone out and back walk, with the bonus that you can leave packs at the hut and not have to carry gear! The walk starts up through the Beech forest, not particularly steep, beautiful trail through the forest with lots of birds to spot. Some great views from further along if you get that far.
The Hut:
6 bunk beds (A little narrow if doubling up with a kid but a bit higher and space on the floor if you want to pull the mattress down to the ground). Very tidy little hut. No fireplace so might be a little chilly in the winter. Only one bench with the table. Beautiful setting in a large flat clearing around the hut then some steep banks down into the forest so you feel like you are amongst the canopy. Lots of bird life, beautiful forest all around, and a little creek nearby for exploring (or brave children to splash in). Water tank on the hut seemed pretty full too. Remarkably there were barely any sandflies when we were there in late summer on a mild windless day.
Good to know:
This hut is a part of Te Araroa and according to the hut book it looks like it averages one or two people per night through the season. Saturday nights look often quite full but otherwise there seems to be space quite commonly. Bonus is that the hut is close enough to the carpark that one can leave a tent in the car and pop down to collect it if the hut is full, which is a great back up option with littlies.
Visited by: Moggre family (kids aged 4 and 2), March 2022
trampingforlittlepeople 