The stunning Redwood Forest – a great place to walk in Rotorua
Rotorua is an absolute hotbed of activities from the high adventures of mountain biking and zorbing to the ultimate relaxation in the thermal waters in places like the Polynesian Spa. If you are looking for something that falls somewhere in between the two, then there are plenty of walking tracks in the area that will take you out exploring this stunning region but without the thrills and spills! We take a look at five of the best walks in Rotorua ranging from the ‘very easy’ to ‘medium’ difficulty so something for everyone.
Redwoods Grove Walk (11.5km)
The Redwoods Park is made up of over 100kms of walking tracks making this a great place to head for a weekend walk. Whilst the park is also a great place for mountain biking, there are lots of tracks and trails that will take you away from the mountain bikers and offer up some amazing views. The Redwoods Grove walk is an easy 11.5km walk which has an elevation of around 500m and is the most popular trail in the park. For more information about the walk and directions, check out this website.
Kerosene Creek (0.2kms)
Kerosene Creek is a short walk with a great ending – the natural thermal waters of the creek
A favourite spot for many of the CPG Hotels staff down in Rotorua, Kerosene Creek is a bit of a hidden gem found just outside of Rotorua. This is not really about the walk (a short 0.2kms to the creek) but more about the destination. Kerosene Creek is a natural hot pool where people go to bathe in the waters year round. The temperature of the water is around 37 degrees which is perfect for sitting back and relaxing and it is a beautiful spot for a short walk.
Blue Lake Walk (4.5kms)
This beautiful lake is situated a short drive away from Rotorua and well worth the trip out. The stunning blue waters of Blue Lake are popular with water skiers, swimmers and boaties and there is always something going on as you take a walk around the perimeter. The walk is an easy 4.5km walk around the outside of the lake and should take you no more than a couple of hours which will take you through native bush and along the beaches.
Whakarewarewa Forest (18kms)
This is the longest walk of our top five recommended walks and also the most difficult. With over 100kms of walking track in the Redwoods, you can take your pick and we have already talked about the Grove Walk above, however this MTB Whakarewarewa Forest walk is a bit longer and more challenging and will lead you through even more of the forest trails. You can collect a map at the visitors’ centre which will show you how all the tracks are interlinked and make up your own route as you go along, making sure you follow the walking tracks and don’t end up on a mountain biking run!
Hamurana Springs Walk (2.5kms)
The Hamaurana Springs are New Zealand’s oldest natural spring
Hamurana Springs is the deepest natural water spring in New Zealand and water travels 70 years underground from the Mamaku Plateau to reach the spring. This is a great place to spot (and fish for) trout which love the colder water of the natural springs. It will take around 20 minutes to drive here from Rotorua and the walk itself is an easy 2.5km tramp which will take you around an hour.
Walking in Rotorua is brilliant and these are just five of the walks that we love. Talk to our staff at either the Lake Rotorua Hotel or Four Canoes and they will be able to give you even more information.