After a meeting just before Christmas, Land Information New Zealand and local groups concerned about the state of the government-owned Craig Burn reserve decided to try to restrict how far campers could spread along the lakeshore.
Wanaka Community Board member Rachel Brown said Linz had agreed to put up signs.
"We are going to trial managing it — actually defining the area people can camp.
"People are just spreading out because the lake’s so low, spreading out for a couple of kilometres up and down the lake.
"We are just going to try and confine it."
There were concerns ground-nesting dotterels were being disturbed by campers, Ms Brown said.
"Most people, if you say, ‘hey, there are birds nesting here please don’t drive’, will actually go, ‘I didn’t know that. I won’t drive there’."
As well, Linz and residents were talking about installing a portable toilet in the area, in addition to the toilet already provided, Ms Brown said.
Some residents wanted overnight camping banned outright, "but we actually can’t".
"That’s just what the law is at the moment.
"There’s a huge, huge hole in the law and we need central government to amend the [Trespass] Act."
"Most" tourists wanted to do the right thing, she said.
"You’ll always have a few bad eggs that you will probably never stop."
The only sort of vehicles allowed to remain overnight are those deemed to be "self-contained", and those that are not are directed to camping grounds.
Ms Brown said there was some anecdotal evidence fewer freedom campers were using Craig Burn this year, and that might be because of the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s "hubs" being trialled at the Red Bridge, near Luggate, and in Ballantyne Rd.
