Because the camp is owned by the Queenstown Lakes District Council there are no restrictions on who can camp there but no part of the area will be set aside for groups of young people this summer.
Operator Rudi Sanders said the issues caused by large groups of young people drinking alcohol and taking drugs at the camping ground had become more problematic in the past few years.
It was also "heartbreaking" for staff to have to clean up broken glass and rubbish left behind each year, Mr Sanders said.
"We are too busy at that time of the year to be looking after drunken young ones."
Camp staff would restrict the number of glass bottles and the amount of alcohol people bought in, he said.
"We don’t want to stop people having a good time but we don’t want people going too far and stopping others from having a good time too."
Mr Sanders said the camping ground only charged a small amount to stay there, which meant it could not hire many extra security staff.
"We don’t want to turn it into a prison camp and we can’t afford to have a large number of security walking around so this is the best option we have."
Almost all camping grounds and holiday parks in the Upper Clutha had done away with dedicated areas for groups of young people, Mr Sanders said.
However, Lake Hawea Holiday Park still set aside an area for about 200 young campers over the age of 18. Owner Sarah Burdon said the area was already mostly booked out for the New Year period and had worked well in the past. Rules such as no glass bottles and no outside visitors had to be followed and there was zero tolerance of campers who broke those rules, Mrs Burdon said.
"It’s really important for us to be able to offer young people a space [where] they can come and have a good time."
The area set aside for young people was well separated from the rest of the camp and there had been serious issues in the past, she said.
"Most of the young ones stick to the rules and don’t cause any trouble," Mrs Burdon said.
