The Kaimai Ranges walks and hikes are great. They’re an underrated mountain range between Coromandel and Tauranga.

They could be more popular, but many of the trails are not overly used, the reason for that is much of the terrain is rugged. But there are plenty of Kaimai walks accessible too all. Particularly the Karangahake Gorge walks.

And yes, the Kaimai Ranges are close enough to Auckland you do many of these as a day trip, or do a bunch as an overnight adventure.

This post will give you some inspiration for eight walks in the Kaimai Ranges.

WALKS IN THE KAIMAI RANGES

1. Wairere Falls Walk (medium | 1 – 3 hours)
2. Mount Te Aroha Summit Walk (medium – hard | 3 – 6 hours)
3. Mount Karangahake Summit Walk (medium | 2 – 3.5 hours)
4. Windows Walk (easy | 30 mins – 1 hour)
5. Rails Tunnel Loop (easy | 40 minutes – 1 hour)
6. Karangahake Historic Walkway (easy | 3 – 5 hours return)
7. Dickey Flat Falls (easy-medium |80 mins – 2.5 hours return)
8. Daly’s Clearing Loop (easy | 2 – 4 hours return)

1. WAIRERE FALLS WALK

• Distance: ~7km return
• Elevation Gain: ~425 metres

If you love New Zealand waterfalls, you’ve got to do walk the Wairere Falls Track to the tallest waterfall in the North Island.

Located reasonably close to Hobbiton, this is a great way to round out a great day on a track that is a reasonably cruisey incline up to two viewpoints. If you’re tight on time you can go to the lower lookout only, but the upper lookout is worth it.

At the upper Wairere Falls lookout, you don’t get to see the waterfall plunge over the cliff so much but you get incredible views over the plains and there’s the chance of a swim.

And the nature itself? Choice.

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2. MOUNT TE AROHA SUMMIT WALK

• Distance: ~8km
• Elevation Gain: ~900 metres

Mount Te Aroha is the highest peak in the Kaimai Ranges making it a little bit of a ‘tick the box’ walk for many locals.

Considering the rugged terrain can be in the heart of the Kaimai’s is, the hike to Mount Te Aroha summit is relatively mild (yet steep).

The further up the track you get the steeper and more technical some sections to get, but all things considered, it’s well maintained.

p.s. you do get awesome views from the 950+ metre summit 🙂
p.p.s. you get a couple of views on the way up too 🙂

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3. MOUNT KARANGAHAKE SUMMIT WALK

• Distance: ~9km return
• Elevation Gain: ~550 metres

This walk is the least popular of all the trails in the gorge, at the northern end of the Kaimais.

The hike to the summit of Mount Karangahake isn’t nearly as high as Mount Te Aroha, but if you’re looking for a challenge in the gorge this will give you one. The walk to the top isn’t amazing, but it’s a relatively short walk for a summit, and once you reach the trig, wow you’ve got some amazing views.

Bring a torch and some warm clothing and you might just see one of your favourite sunsets ever.

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4. WINDOWS WALK

• Distance: ~2.5km return
• Elevation Gain: Less than 100 metres

This is a very popular walk that’s accessible to all ages and can be completed in well under an hour. It’s insane value for distance.

You get to experience walking through tunnels, multiple viewpoints, relics, and the Waitawheta River. Do it!

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5. RAILS TUNNEL LOOP

Like the walkway, this walk is great value with the highlight being the ~1km walk through the old rail tunnel. You spend about one-third of the walk in the tunnel, with the rest of the walk following the Ohinemuri River. You also cross two swing bridges, and a footbridge which is cool.

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6. KARANGAHAKE HISTORIC WALKWAY

As this walk follows SH2 and Ohinemuri River it is more or less flat for the entire out and back walk. It’s important to note this trail forms part the popular Waihi to Paeroa Cycle Trail so you’ll see cyclists along the way, but the path is big enough it’s not an issue.

What will you see on the way? Other than gorgeous river views, you’ll visit the Owharoa Falls, Victoria Battery Site, and another small waterfall that no one seems to know the name of! There’s a couple of cafes along the way you can visit too.

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7. DICKEY FLAT FALLS

• Distance: ~6km return (via Crown Track)
• Elevation Gain: ~200 metres

This walk to is in the Karangahake Gorge and can be combined with the Windows Walk or used as a long route to Mount Karangahake.

The main attraction of Dickey Flat Falls is of course the waterfall which is something I’ve never seen before. One part of the waterfall comes straight out of a cave (or is it a tunnel?) and the other part is on the Waitawheta River like you’d expect.

And right by the falls is a tunnel you can walk in too. From those I’ve talked too, this was the tunnel they enjoyed the most as it’s a few hundred metres long, yet you definitely need a light to get through it as they’ve kept it raw.

On the way you’ll pass remnants of the mining boom, and you can take a dip in a couple of swimming holes too.

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8. DALY’S CLEARING LOOP

• Distance: ~9km loop
• Elevation Gain: ~300 – 350 metres

This walk is technically outside of the Gorge, but it’s close by and is mostly used by those overnights in Daly’s Clearing Hut. But, you might like this walk as it’s off the beaten path.

The Daly’s Clearing Loop takes you through a small section of farmland, before diving into the bush which has some stunning nikau palms. Eventually you’ll drop down to the Waitawheta River which gives you some nice views as you finish the loop.

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I really enjoy the Kaimai Ranges! There are about 360km of trails throughout, and I’ve run a bunch in addition to hiking the ones you see on the list. I’ll get to see them all one day!

If you follow this guide and venture into the Kaimai Ranges for a walk as a result, please let me know in the comments below or via email jub@churnewzealand.com .

p.s. Here’s a map of the walks/hikes in the Kaimai Ranges that I’ve published a blog post about. Along with all the other hikes documented on Chur New Zealand, in.

You can click the icon to see brief details, as well as a link to read more about the hike (like this post).