Lake Gault might just be one of the West Coast’s best kept secrets. Everybody knows and loves the spectacular Lake Matheson, but few people realise there is another reflective lake just a few kilometres away.

It too, is a very special lake and situated in a gorgeous secluded location. When we visited on a sunny Sunday evening, it was just us and the tuis. It’s the kind of spot you sit down for a moment and realise hours have passed, it’s a truly captivating view.

It requires a little more effort to get to than Lake Matheson, but it really is worth the investment. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Lake Gault, including the conditions you need to ensure you get that perfect reflection.

The Lake Gault Trail

The stats

Distance: 8.6km return
Elevation gained: 340m
Difficulty: Easy but not flat

The trail to Lake Gault is on a well made gravel path which branches off the more popular Lake Matheson Track, you can easily combine the two for a longer walk. Around 3/4 of the trail to Lake Gault is uphill. It is steep in parts, but the track is well graded.

It took us an hour to reach the lake at a leisurely pace and an hour to get back down again. It’s not currently signposted from the car park, but we’ll detail how to get there below.

Starting the trail along the Lake Matheson Track

The walk to Lake Gault begins at the cafe and follows the Lake Matheson Track for the first kilometre (you won’t see it on the initial signposts).

This part of the walk is flat and takes you first through beautiful mossy forest before you continue along the path past some open fields, with glorious views of Aoraki Mount Cook and the surrounding Southern Alps.

Finding the trail

The only part you need to watch out for along this section of the walk is the junction which comes 500m into the track and doesn’t yet have Lake Gault signposted. You will need to head right, following signs for Reflection Island.

If you head straight on you will walk almost the full Lake Matheson loop before coming to the turn off for Lake Gault (although visiting Lake Matheson is a must if you haven’t done that yet!). After 1km you will come to the first and only signpost for Lake Gault which sees you head right, into the forest.

Through the forest to Lake Gault

The first 600m through the forest are relatively flat, it’s pretty, but it’s not as dense as on the Lake Matheson Track. As this trail is new it doesn’t yet have that established feel.

There are still logs and debris to the side of the path - though the path itself is in perfect condition.

After that, the track begins to steepen as you wind your way up through the forest.

It’s mainly on switchbacks, but they can be steep at points. It’s not straight up as on some New Zealand walks, but you definitely know you are going uphill!

At the 2.5km mark you’ll get a couple of peeks out to farmland and distant mountains, but for the most part this is a forest walk with little in the way of views.

There’s plenty of birdlife and as we walked down the track in the dark (after watching sunset at the lake) we were delighted to hear kiwi calling several times!

The next part of the trail does have a couple of short flat sections, but for the majority of the next kilometre you are still climbing. It was shady in the afternoon, but I did notice there were points where the forest canopy wouldn’t be sheltering you if walking in the main heat of the day.

Roughly 3.5km into the walk you will begin your descent to the lake. Over the final 800m you’ll head downhill, before the path largely flattens and you get little glimpses out to the water between the trees.

You’ll then come to a little narrow dirt path which takes you to the lakeshore.

Arriving at Lake Gault

Lake Gault is majestic, with a mountain panorama sitting behind the water and providing you get the right conditions, a mirror image in the water.

As the lake is a little higher than Lake Matheson and down a longer trail, it has a very secluded feel, like you’ve found your own hidden piece of paradise.

We saw a kea swoop over the mountain tops and sat listening to the resident tuis, in what has to be one of the most serene spots on the West Coast.

There’s a bench seat and also a big log to sit on, so it’s a comfy spot to relax and even the hour and a half we stayed didn’t feel long enough!

Although the sun does not set directly behind the lake, it’s a lovely place to be at sunset as you still get that beautiful soft light and glow on the mountain tops.

The only slight blight is the sandflies, but they are nowhere near as bad as many other spots we’ve visited recently.

It’s still worth bringing repellant though.

The walk back

The walk back from the lake starts by heading uphill for 800m. After that it’s pretty much downhill all the way until you hit the final kilometre when it’s flat. The path is gravel and pretty easy to descend on. We headed down in the dark and it was still very straightforward.

We’re so glad we went for sunset because not only was that a wonderful time of day to be at the lake, but it also meant we heard the kiwi and saw glow worms!

Whilst it’s not a destination glow worm walk like the nearby Minnehaha Track, as there aren’t any really big clusters, there were still enough that it made the walk back special. You’ll notice them clinging to the embankments and in various tree crevices.

We started noticing them about midway down the track, there may have been some earlier along the trail but it wasn’t dark enough when we first left the lake to really see. The mossy banks definitely seemed to be their favourite spots!

How to get the perfect reflection at Lake Gault

Firstly you will want to make sure you have both clear conditions at the lake and over the mountains. When you check the weather forecast, check for cloud cover over Aoraki Mount Cook itself. The weather can look glorious in the town of Fox Glacier but the mountains can still be shrouded in cloud.
You want to pick as clear a day as possible for both locations. Lake Gault is lovely, but without the reflection it loses its wow factor and if you have limited time in the area it wouldn’t be my first recommend. With the mountain view and reflection, it’s a dream.
You need to have a very low wind speed. We think it needs to be even lower than at Lake Matheson. At Lake Matheson, a windspeed of 2 m/s looked fantastic on our visit, at Lake Gault 2 m/s left a very limited reflection.
We waited it out and the wind dropped to 1 m/s and this was as close to perfect as you’re likely to get - you might find an elusive 0 m/s but those hours (you never get whole days like that!) are few and far between. If you see one take it!
Those wind speeds tend to be most common in the early morning and just before sunset, which works really well because they are also the nicest times to be at the lake.

Lake Gault vs Lake Matheson

I adored Lake Gault and found it a really difficult spot to leave, but if you only have time for one, it still has to be Lake Matheson. The view and reflection is even more magnificent.

However, if Lake Matheson is crowded and you’re wanting a spot to actually spend time and enjoy in peace, rather than just take a look and move on, then I’d recommend Lake Gault.

If you can manage to fit in both that’s of course the best plan and the combined walk would be 12.1km in total.

Apart from up on the glacier itself, I can’t think of a better way to spend half a day in Fox than taking in two of the South Island’s most spectacular lakes.

Getting to Lake Gault

The Lake Gault trail begins at the Matheson Cafe. As mentioned, you won’t yet find it signposted from the beginning, although I am sure that will come.

The Lake Matheson Cafe is located 6km from Fox Glacier town which is roughly a five minute drive. It’s 28km and roughly a 30 minute drive from Franz Josef. Car parking is free and unlimited (at time of writing).

If you don’t have a car, a shuttle bus operates between Franz Josef and Lake Matheson. There used to be a shuttle from Fox too but I can’t see it online anymore. It would be easy to take a taxi though if it has stopped operating.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support!