3-4 hour return | 3.1 km one way | Fiordland
I have completed the Lake Marian Track a few times now - always in summer and yet always completely different in terms of what you find at the end. This track isn't long (just over 3km) but it isn't easy going, so underestimate it at your peril! On this occasion I took my parents who had arrived from Europe about 10 days prior and done a few ‘training’ hikes in preparation. We thought we would set off and see how far we get, prepared to turn around at the Falls and make our way further up the Milford Road for a leisurely afternoon. But they powered through and made it all the way which was a great effort on their part and a great memory to take home!
From the car park, the first part of the walk is pretty easy going. There is a well-maintained track up to Marian Falls through beautifully dense, fern filled New Zealand bush. After around 10 minutes and 700m of walking you arrive at the cascading Falls and can enjoy the sights and sound of this spectacular cascading Waterfall from the platform that has been built skirting the edge of the river and leading you up to the start of the Lake Marian Track proper.
Things start to get trickier from here on in, with a sign indicating 1 hour 30 minutes to Lake Marian complete with a description that my parents described as somewhat understated on their return down.
The track then climbed up towards the left and became a narrow tramping track through the bush marked by orange arrows. It was easy enough to follow but gets your heart pumping from early on. About 30 minutes after departing the Falls we arrived at a break in the trees and view out across the river back through the valley that we had driven along on the way in. We took a breather here before continuing our ascent.
The remainder of the hike weaved its way through the lush forest across tree roots and up the occasional steeper section. Generally speaking, it was a gradual incline, but that still took its toll given how continuous it was, so we just took our time and enjoyed being outside on another beautiful summer's day, though keeping an eye on the clouds that were rolling across as it was scheduled to be raining later in the day.
It took us about an hour from the stop on the riverbank to get to the lake. Unlike previous occasions where you could walk around the edge of the lake and right across to the spectacular falls opposite, this time the lake was incredibly full, and you couldn't even get to the end of the track. Instead, we peered through the gap in the trees and then retraced our steps around 50m back up the path and followed a little track through the trees and round to the left-hand side of the lake where we found a nice spot to sit and eat our lunch on the rocks. All up it took us around 2 hours to get here and the reward was a lunch spot looking out onto the spectacular mirrored alpine lake sitting in a beautiful hanging valley.
The return was via the same track, this time mostly going downhill and so slightly quicker than the way in. For us the walk in was timed perfectly as it started to drizzle just as we were setting off for home, but well protected back in the bush we hardly noticed, and it certainly wasn't a heavy Fiordland shower!
I have never attempted this track in the winter (and probably wouldn't) but have been in November and December in different years and been able to get along the track pretty easily without any concerns about conditions. Many people also camp here, though on this trip I wouldn't have found too many good camping spots given how high the lake was, so would likely have needed to camp a bit further back along the track or walk back out. There is a long drop toilet around 5 minutes from the lake and as ever the "Pack in, pack out" rule applies for anyone visiting this beautiful spot.
Parking: Lake Marian Track Car Park which is on the Milford Road.
Overnight Options: Camping option available at Lake Marian with long drop toilet.
