St James Falls is roughly a 1-hour drive away from Hanmer Springs or 2.5-hours from Christchurch or 1.5-hours from Greymouth. The road surface is always sealed.

If you drive from either Christchurch or Greymouth, travel on the SH-7 until you reach St James Walkway car park (signposted). Long-drop toilets and shelter are available there. St James Walkway and Rolleston Pack Track start from here.

From the parking follow a well-signposted 20-minutes loop path - Alpine Nature Walk. If you walk it clockwise, the best views of the waterfall (seen from a distance) are found along the first part of the walk. 

There is an interesting side-track called Tarn Walk (1min from beginning of the loop walk) which provides a great view of the tarn.

You can also see the whole waterfall from the road when driving from Greymouth towards Lewis Pass.