Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest

Escape into the beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest, one of Rotorua’s most spectacular natural assets. Famous for its magnificent stands of towering Californian Coastal Redwoods it is just five minutes drive from the city centre. Here you can experience some of the finest walking and mountain bike trails in the world. Not to mention taking in superb panoramic views of Rotorua City, Lake and surrounding district.

Mountain bike, run or hike on purpose-built trails in a century-old experimental forest with more than 170 different tree species. Just five minutes south from downtown Rotorua, a beautiful forest awaits your exploration. It was established in 1901 as an experiment to test the suitability of different native and exotic forest species for commercial planting. The management of this forest has included deliberate strategies to welcome recreational users.

In an area of the forest known as The Triangle, there is a mountain bike park with two circuits, a BMX track and a labyrinth of custom-made single tracks ranging from easy to terrifying. Created in partnership with experienced mountain bikers, the trails have names like Check It Out, Gunna Gotta, North Face, The Tickler and Be Rude Not To. Bikes can be hired in town and guided tours of the trails are also available.

With tracks this good, the bikers are not tempted to stray onto the many hiking and running trails, so everyone gets space to enjoy this magnificent forest in their own favourite way. Perhaps the most famous area is the grove of giant coastal Californian redwoods. This is such an impressive feature that the park is often referred to simply as 'the Redwood Forest'.