Lake Lochnagar is located deep in Skippers Canyon and is only accessible by gaining access to the sheep and cattle station, Branches. Skippers Canyon is located between Arrowtown and Queenstown and is home to one of the world's most scenic and thrilling canyon roads. Skippers Canyon is a 22-kilometre gorge carved out by the Shotover River and is an integral part of the region's rich gold mining past.

The Skippers Road was constructed at the height of the gold rush in the late 1860s when the Shotover River was regarded as one of the richest gold-bearing rivers in the world. It took the pioneering gold miners 22 years to hack their way through the sheer rock walls of the canyon in the hope of striking fortune. Today, the road offers a breathtaking journey along a road that clings to the sheer sides of the canyon walls. Skippers Canyon is part of the Mt Aurum Recreation Reserve.