Location: Ranolf Street, Rotorua Central — 5 minutes walk from the city centre   Accessibility: Fully accessible; flat sealed paths throughout, suitable for prams and wheelchairs   Duration: 30 minutes to 2 hours — walk at your own pace   Cost: Free — open daily, no entry fee

Kuirau Park is New Zealand’s only free geothermal public park and one of the most extraordinary free attractions anywhere in the country — a place where visitors can stand at the edge of a steaming crater lake, watch mud pools bubble and plop in slow, viscous rhythm, and soak their feet in free thermal footbaths, all within a five-minute walk of the Rotorua city centre. The park is maintained by the Rotorua Lakes Council and sits on Ranolf Street, at the northern edge of the CBD, occupying several hectares of genuinely active geothermal land.

The centrepiece of the park is Taokahu Lake — a steaming, milky-turquoise crater lake fringed with encrusted silica and wreathed in sulphur vapour. The lake is too hot and chemically active to enter but is safely viewable from the surrounding paths, and the sight of its restless surface — always moving, always steaming — is deeply compelling. Around the lake, a network of sealed paths leads through the geothermal field past fenced mud pools, boiling springs, and steaming vents in various states of activity. The level of geothermal display changes from visit to visit depending on underground pressure — regular visitors report that the park feels subtly different every time they come.

The free hot footbaths are one of Kuirau Park’s most beloved features. Fed by genuine geothermal water cooled to a comfortable temperature, these shallow pools allow visitors to remove their shoes, roll up their trousers, and soak in mineral-rich thermal water in the open air — a genuinely therapeutic experience that costs nothing. The footbaths are popular with locals and visitors alike and are particularly welcome on cool mornings when the steam rises around your ankles and the rest of the park is still quiet.

Beyond the geothermal attractions, Kuirau Park is a well-rounded community green space. A children’s playground and paddling pool operate through the warmer months. Picnic tables, barbecue facilities, and grassed areas provide a relaxed setting for families. A small rose garden and ornamental plantings give the park a gentler counterpoint to its dramatic geothermal core.

Every Saturday morning from 6 am to 1 pm, the Rotorua Saturday Market transforms Kuirau Park into one of the city’s most vibrant social spaces. Organised by the local Rotary club, the market draws dozens of stalls selling breakfast food from a wide range of cultural traditions, fresh produce, clothing, and craft — all to the sound of live music. The proceeds from stall fees go to local charities and community projects, giving the market a genuine civic character.