Where to Find Campervan Parking In Queenstown

Need to find parking In Queenstown for a campervan? Read this article for the only 2 decent options for oversized vehicles. 

We whirled around the narrow, center-city roundabout a second time, and I felt my stomach gently roll into a ball and towards my throat. Unfortunately, I couldn’t look away from the spinning words on my phone as I quickly looked for parking on a festival / holiday weekend in Queenstown. In the backseat, CZ started crying.

“It’s okay,” I yelled, trying to keep the frantic energy out of my voice, “we are almost done, you are doing so good.” My words of encouragement were not enough, as she opened her mouth and emptied the contents of her stomach onto her carseat. She looked at me blankly, like “what just happened?” and then started screaming. I debated if I should drop the phone, hop into the back, and wipe her down, but the damage was too great.

“I need some help here, or we will never get a parking spot!” John said, frantically navigating bumper to bumper traffic with wide turns in our Mercedes sprinter over the wailing. The row of spots to our right were too small, and the campers that went for it only worsen traffic.

“OKAY! There’s public parking in the Mann Street Carpark.”

**More crying and lost breakfast**

“And, just where is mann street?”

“Three blocks down and to the right”

**Another burst from the back**

“It’s underground theres no chance we meet that height restriction! What now?”

“That sign back there said free parking at the holiday park, just pull in there, and we can sort it out” I said choking back tears.

“Once I park, I am not moving this car!” John seethed.

“FINE!”

“FINE!”

We slowly made our way up the hill to Lakeview Holiday Park, following the signs to free parking. There was a small argument about where to park, and we ended up crunching (literally) into a spot against a brick wall. John bolted out of the car, shouted some curse words, and assessed the damage. The rear bumper was scratched but nothing severe.

He returned with the details: it’s free, for 15 minutes, while you check-in to the holiday park. Otherwise you have to pay.

This was our experience parking a campervan in Queenstown. Granted, the situation esclataed due to a carsick toddler, but those are narrow streets filled with pedestrians, cars, and other campervans. That’s a stressful combination for driving a campervan.

We had dreams of freedom camping in the mountains that night, but tensions were too high. We registered at the holiday park, and pulled into our powered campsite to start the decontamination of the carseat.

As we walked around town later in the afternoon, JZ spotted the police station. We inquired where we could have parked our campervan in the city. The friendly officer was impressed we took the time to look into it. I get the feeling campers are a bit of a mixed blessing for this beautiful lakeside city.

She reiterated that freedom camping in and around Queenstown is strictly prohibited, as it is in most urban and residential areas. However, day parking is largely for smaller vehicles. Campervans are too long for the street parking and too tall the parking garages. This means that most of the public parking signage in the city can quickly become confusing and irratating for campervan drivers. If you do find a spot, it will likely be a 30 minute max.

Where to Find Campervan Parking in Queenstown

Parking In Queenstown – Boundary Parking Lot

Our carpark of choice:  12 Boundary Street, Queenstown, NZ

This is the parking lot suggested to us at the police station. There are multiple entrances, and depending on the day / time you will need to pay. Public holidays were exempted, but otherwise you pay 7 days a week. Full details are available on the council website. It was $0.50 per hour when we visited, with a $2.50 daily max.

*** Note there are 3 entrances / exits to this carpark. Use only the ones on Boundary street. Otherwise you have to cross a bridge that will scrape the bottom of your camper, and it may damage the drain for the grey water (not that we learned this from experience).

Option 2: Cemetery Rd

There is a small cluster of free parking on Cemetery road right by Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park It may be possible to park for the day, but they only have a handful of spots near the visitor center. Also, during peak season they have a 3 day minimum for the sites.

I hope that someone else frantically Googling finds this article just in time!!