Lake Hawea doesn't try very hard to get your attention, and that's exactly the point. It sits quietly about 15 minutes from Wanaka, a long, glacier-carved lake with mountains on both sides and a lot less traffic than its more famous neighbour.
If you're staying nearby, or just passing through on the road to Makarora and the West Coast, here's what's actually worth doing, walking, or eating around the lake.
Walk the Gladstone Track
The Gladstone Track runs along the southern edge of the lake, and it's the easiest way to get a proper look at the place without much effort. It takes a couple of hours to walk the whole way to Johns Creek and back, though most people just walk a section of it, out and back, or one-way with a car parked at either end. You can cycle it too.
The trail passes several beach areas along the way, Scotts Beach, Kitesurfers Beach, and Johns Creek Beach, each with its own car park and its own quiet stretch of shoreline. In summer these are genuinely good swimming spots. In winter, the same track gives you a clear view of snow settling on the ranges across the water.
Swim, or just sit on the beach
Lake Hawea's water is cold even in summer, glacier-fed lakes usually are, but it's clear and genuinely good for swimming on a hot day. Johns Creek Beach and Scotts Beach are both easy, unfussy places to do this: no lifeguards, no crowds, just a stretch of shoreline and a mountain view.
If you'd rather watch than swim, there's an elevated track just back from the beach with good views over the water, worth a slow walk with a coffee in hand.
Hike Isthmus Peak, if you're up for it
For a bigger day out, Isthmus Peak Track is the one locals point you toward. It's a serious hike, 6 to 9 hours round trip, climbing to a summit around 1,683 metres between Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. Most people start before dawn, partly to beat the heat and partly for a chance at catching the cloud inversion that sometimes settles over the lake below.
It's steep in the second half and not a casual walk, so it's worth being realistic about fitness and weather before committing to it. But the view from the top, both lakes at once, with the Southern Alps behind, is the kind of thing people plan entire trips around.
A gentler alternative
If Isthmus Peak sounds like more than you want to take on, the Timaru River walk is a good substitute. It follows Timaru River Road from the township to a picnic and camping area at Timaru Creek, then continues through beech forest onto a braided riverbed. Far less climbing, still a proper walk in the bush.
The Hawea range, seen from the lakefront.
Get out on the water
Boating, kayaking, and fishing are all part of daily life on Lake Hawea rather than tourist add-ons, and the lake is well known locally for its fishing. If you've brought or hired a boat, there's a marina at Hawea township, and several spots along the lakefront where 4WD access to the water is straightforward.
Kitesurfing is also popular when the wind picks up, hence the name of one of the beaches, though it's very much a "check conditions first" kind of activity rather than a sure thing.
Eat at the Hawea Store and Kitchen
Options are deliberately limited around the lake, which is part of its appeal, but the Hawea Store and Kitchen is worth knowing about. It's a rustic, unpretentious spot for a coffee, a meal, or picking up local products and basics you might have forgotten to pack. Worth noting: the local pub keeps limited hours, mostly evenings, so it's not a reliable lunch stop.
Or just don't do much at all
It's worth saying plainly: a lot of what makes Lake Hawea worth visiting is doing very little. Sitting by the water. Reading something you've been meaning to finish. Watching the light change on the mountains through the afternoon.
That's really what The Black Shack is set up for. Come back from the beach, light the fire, or sink into the outdoor bath as the sky goes dark. The lake doesn't come with a long list of attractions, and most people who stay here end up glad about that.