 The nearby large residential sub-division of Lake Hayes Estate is just across the main highway and takes its name from Lake Hayes.A track called the "Lake Hayes Circuit" runs around the lake and forms part of The Queenstown Trail and is popular for use by walkers, runners and cyclists.The local Māori iwi (tribe) of Kai Tahu originally named the lake "Te Whaka-ata a Haki-te-kura" after an ancestress called Haki-te-kura whose image was said to be reflected in the lake.