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A circuit of the wonderful Whakarewarewa Forest with a variety of terrain and lake and forest views.


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Map Key

20.8

Miles

33.5

KM

Loop

1,697' 517 m

High

928' 283 m

Low

2,378' 725 m

Up

2,380' 725 m

Down

4%

Avg Grade (2°)

24%

Max Grade (14°)

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Lake · Swimming · Views

The track crosses 8 Mile Gate Rd. (a logging road closed to pedestrians) at two points. There should be no need to travel along 8 Mile Rd. for more than 50m.

Overview

A great route using a variety of singletrack trails and forestry roads with beautiful views of Rotorua, Tikitapu, and Rotokakahi along the way.

Description

This hike is on singletrack, forestry roads and tracks. There are panoramic views of Rotorua from the Tokorangi Pa Track and beautiful sections along lakes Tikitapu (the Blue Lake) and Rotokakahi (the Green Lake). There is good cell phone coverage except down near the lakes.

Some areas are slippery after rain and a couple of areas can be pondy after heavy rain.

Trail markers can be tricky to spot at some of the intersections, but most are marked sometimes on the far side with a thick black arrow on a post though in a variety of formats. It is generally conceded that if you want to follow the trail then you'll need a map, a guide, or the Hiking Project mobile app :-) The views along the way make the loop well worthwhile!

Flora & Fauna

Californian Redwood, Douglas Firm European Larch, Walnut, various Eucalyptus into Native Bush.

Shared By:

Dafydd Malcolm

Trail Ratings

  3.5 from 4 votes

#5026

Overall
  3.5 from 4 votes
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Recommended Route Rankings

#61

in New Zealand

#5,026

Overall
62 Views Last Month
6,039 Since Sep 20, 2016
Intermediate Intermediate

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Photos

Trail through the trees.
Jul 26, 2016 near Rotorua, NZ
Looking up at the Redwoods.
Jul 26, 2016 near Rotorua, NZ

0 Comments

Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Feb 3, 2020
Beni Gehrer
Mar 5, 2019
Steph Charles
Started the circuit from Blue Lake, so big climb was later in the day and could swim at the end. Easy to follow markers. 22mi — 7h 05m
Feb 17, 2018
Lara Bloxham
lovely walk, took us 10 hours including breaks. 19.9mi
Oct 31, 2017
Zachary Hamashin
Yellow track 7mi
Apr 19, 2017
Karina Gomes
Feb 21, 2017
Christof Schanung
Feb 13, 2017
Matthieu Dubuis
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