Image: Ray Salisbury | ©
Mt Brown hut at dawn, West Coast.
Mt Brown Hut

Located in Lake Kaniere Scenic Reserve in the West Coast region

This hut has magnificent views from the hut deck that overlook Lake Kaniere, Hokitika and out to sea.

This hut is owned and maintained by the Backcountry Trust. It is available for the public to use.

This hut was relocated from Lower Arahura Hut site, much of it had to be replaced and strengthened due to high winds that can be experienced on Mt Brown, this was carried out by many hours of volunteer work from the Mt Brown Community Project Team.

The volunteers that worked on this hut wanted to encourage first time trampers and families to use this hut.

The track is managed by volunteers and is signposted just south of Geologist Creek on the east side of Lake Kaniere on the Dorothy Falls Road.

Information about Mt Brown Hut on Backcountry Trust website. 

Fees

  • Adult (18+ years): $25 per night
  • Youth (5–17 years): $12.50 per night
  • Child/Infant (0–4years): free

Backcountry Hut Passes and Backcountry Hut Tickets cannot be used at this hut.

Bookings

Bookings for the 2026/27 season open at 12 noon on Tuesday 12 May 2026.  

  • If no availability shows online for your dates, the lodge is fully booked.
  • No spaces are kept for visitors arriving without a booking.
  • Phone and in‑person bookings made at a visitor centre incur a $10 service fee.
  • Same‑day bookings are available online until 8 pm if spaces remain.

Book Mt Brown Hut online.

Mt Brown Hut is located on a route that is no longer maintained by DOC. This route receives some maintenance on a sporadic basis by Permolat, who also provide information about the route to this hut on their website.

Go to the Remote Huts website for more information on Mt Brown Hut

Location

NZTopo50 map sheet: 
Grid/NZTM2000 coordinates: E1453002, N5252141

The fire has been removed from the hut. Heating is unavailable until a new fire is installed.