These 5 best Taranaki walks include strolls along the beach, in the bush, and up the mountain. These must do day hikes in the Taranaki area are great year round.
New Zealand is a hiker or walkers paradise because there are so many outstanding day and multi-day walks. Before moving to New Zealand all I could think about were the walks in the mountains of the South Island. After living in the Taranaki area on the north island I’m super glad to be here and not elsewhere. The Taranaki area has it all – beaches, cliffs, mountains, rivers, and native forest.
The 5 Best Taranaki Walks
Note that the times for these best Taranaki walks are all based on my estimates and vary depending on your walking speed. I am a pretty fast, but not super fast walker.
The heart of this area is Mt. Taranaki, a stratovolcano. There have been a series of volcanoes here in the past that now include the Pouakai range, Kaitake range, Paritutu, and the Sugarloaf Islands. Four of these best Taranaki walks take you up these mountains.
Paritutu and Back Beach Loop
2 hours loop.
This walk is a favorite of my kids because it combines some fun scrambling up a steep rocky gully using chains, playing on a big dune, and wandering along the beach.
Paritutu is an old volcanic outcrop on the southern edge of town, just past the port. There is a short, steep trail that goes up to the top. This trail has stairs and a chain for part and is not for the faint of heart.
You can park at Paritutu, climb the peak, then go around it to the other side where you find a sandy dune gully that is perfect to play on as you make your way down to the beach. Wander along the beach and make your way back up at a carpark.
Then follow the trail to the clifftops and try to continue along the cliffs back to your starting point.
White Cliffs Walkway
4 hours loop.
This is a super sweet walk that follows along cliffs, across farmers paddocks, through some native bush, and then along the beach back to the start.
The views from the top of the cliffs are pretty great, but the best part has to be the walk along the beach underneath the towering white cliffs. You have to time this one such that you are on the beach within 2 hours of low tide. Some parts on the beach are impassable outside of that small window.
Translator Tower Loop In Mt. Egmont National Park
2 1/2 to 3 hour loop.
Mt. Egmont National Park surrounds Mt. Egmont or Mt. Taranaki. This loops is a great way to see part of the park if you only have a few hours. The walk up passes through the goblin forest. Then you get above bush line and wander around the mountain in the tussock until you get to the translator tower.
From the tower you then head back down the puffer, into the bush again and back to your starting point.
Pouakai Tarns In Mt. Egmont National Park
4 hours round trip – out and back.
This walk takes you to the photo you’ve seen of Mt. Taranaki reflected in a lake that makes you start drooling because it looks so incredible. If you can score this walk on a clear, wind free day then you may get that same view and photo for yourself. That’s pretty rare as I’ve been up there a lot and only had one or two days like that.
Start at the new, big carpark at the end of Mangorei road. The trail then goes up, up, and up for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to the Pouakai hut. Just above the hut the track reaches a saddle with great views. Go to the left for about 20 minutes and you’ll arrive at the Pouakai tarn. Return the same way you came.
Davies Track in The Kaitake Range
3 1/2 to 4 hours round trip – out and back.
The Kaitake Range is another old volcanic cone that juts away from Mt. Taranaki heading towards the coast at Oakura. Highlights of this walk include native forest, birds, and some great views.
This walk crosses some paddocks and then is in native lowland, coastal forest until you reach the summit. The trail tops out at Patuha trig, which has stunning views of the coast and Mt. Taranaki. Return to the trailhead the same way you came.