From May 2020 until further notice, the Tarawera Lake Outlet and camping ground is closed to public access.
In more normal times:
Lake Tarawera is a deep, clear lake with excellent water quality all year round. Surface water temperatures range from winter lows of 12 degrees Celsius to summer highs of 22 degrees Celsius.
April to September is when trout spawn and gather in numbers at places like the lake outlet.
Vehicle access to this area is from Kawerau and requires an access permit, available from the Kawerau i-SITE situated on Plunket Street in the centre of Kawerau.
Lake Tarawera is world-renowned for the size and condition of the rainbow trout taken from it; many fish in excess of 4kg are caught every year. It is currently illegal to keep wild trout over 65cm in length caught from Lake Tarawera. If the fish is over 65cm and doesn't have a fin clip or tag, release it carefully back into the water alive so we can use these to produce good numbers of big hatchery fish in years to come.