Hidden Valley's Geothermal: Your Self-Guided Odyssey

An amazing surprise is how we'd describe this place! It was enhanced by the most friendly and helpful people working there. Lovely walk, lots of fascinating and amazing geothermal activity to see. Plus the welcome site of the ferry and beautiful lake before and after the walk. Highly recommend!

Fabulous site well maintained with lots to see, friendly staff and good cafe. Be prepared for lots of steps but the team that built all the walkways really deserve a mention as it must have been hard work but made the experience so much easier.

Perfect location close to Taupo to get a feel for nature’s power when it comes to geothermal activity. The entire trail is very walkable and can be done in little more than an hour if necessary…

There are MANY thermal parks in this part of New Zealand. Frankly, they have many similar features. This one ia part way between Rototuro and Lake Taupo, between Rt 1 and Rt 5, so could be a good enough route stopping point. It opens at 8am, so if you're getting an early start and trying to fit a whole lot into your day, this could be a good option. Some positives: A lovely patio deck outside of reception overlooking the lake. The park is in a rather isolated location, making for a delightful place to have a coffee and peacefully watch the boat coming and going. The 5 minute boat ride to the attraction is included in the admission. It runs continuously, so no need to worry about scheduling it. It's a large park with good viewpoints.. the directional signage is good. It boasts having a cave. Nice, but frankly underwhelming when you get to it. Some negatives: The 2.5k route is probably 75% on boardwalk. The boards are far enough apart that hiking sticks, crutches etc can easily get caught up on them. There are hundreds of stairs in the course of the route, most admittedly necessary, but many are without handrails. If you have balance issues or children who don't pay attention, the lack of handrails could be troublesome. Descriptive signage is difficult to read and in poor condition. If you want to know something about what you're seeing, you're at a loss until returning to ask the boat driver at the end. Good luck remembering where and what it was. As I stated in the beginning, there are MANY choices. This one doesn't particularly stand out, but maybe it's the most convenient for your itinerary.

Very interesting site with different thins to see. Very well organised and looked after. Staff were great. Xxxxxxxxxxx

Easy boardwalk path among beautiful colored slica terraces with bubbling pools and steam vents. Free short ferry brings you across lake to get there.

First time we have seen any geo thermal locations and we weren’t disappointed. Really well organised, loved the fact that out was self guided so we cold take our time. The route was clearly marked and the path was well looked after. The staff were really friendly and informative. 100% with the money.

Had a wonderful time taking photos and exploring spent double the smount of time there without any problem at all Well worth the cost

Nice experience . must watch. The tour uphill walk gives a very good view of the Geothermal and the cave. Worth it. Enjoyed the whole trip though it was raining that day.

Of the three geothermal parks we visited near Rotorua (Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland and Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park), this is by far my favourite. Compact but packed with so many different and fascinating features to admire: small boiling geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pools, gorgeously colourful silica terraces and a geothermal cave (one of only two in the world!). An additional plus is the short on-demand boat ride to/from the thermal park, which gives a great view of the silica terrace “flowing” into the lake. The park is divided into 3 zones and the routes are well-marked. There are also signboards with maps at key points highlighting the current location, so no worries about getting lost. Really appreciated the interesting information signs for the key features. Just be warned there are lots of steps uphill and downhill which provide a decent workout. The visitor centre has a cafe and a small gift shop. There’s also a spacious shaded deck overlooking the lake. It’s a lovely place to have lunch or a snack after visiting the thermal park - recommend the pies. If you only visit one thermal park in NZ North Island, visit this one!