THE HUKA FALLS WALKWAY IN TAUPO

The Spa Park to Huka Falls walkway is an awesome 6-7km out-and-back trail along the Waikato River.

The turn around point is the epic Huka Falls, but it also takes in the Otumuheke Stream, a natural hot water stream you can dip in on the way.

This post will give you all the details about the Huka Falls walk.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Details About The Huka Falls Walkway
2. Huka Falls Walk Map
3. How To Get There
4. My Experience On The Spa Park To Huka Falls Walk

DETAILS ABOUT THE HUKA FALLS WALKWAY

When¹: March 2021

Difficulty²: Easy

Hike Distance³: The return walk from the Spa Park to Huka Falls is about 6-7km based on my Strava data.

Incline⁴: In total there’s !150 metres of elevation gain on the track. There’s no massive climbs, its easy rolling terrain.

Here’s the elevation profile:

Hike Duration⁵: The walk will take most of you 1-2 hours to complete the return (which includes 10-15 minutes viewing the Huka Falls). If you decide to chill in the stream and/or visit the cafe, you can add on additional time…plus your time in the stream.

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HUKA FALLS WALK MAP

The map above is the Huka Falls trail on the Maps.me app which you can download and use offline.

You can see parts of the trail on Google Maps, but not all of it. That said, it’s super easy to follow the track and a map isn’t required.

HOW TO GET THERE

You’ve got a few options to get to the start of the Huka Falls Walk…walk, drive, or taxi.

From the Taupo i-Site (a central Taupo) it’s less than 4km for driving to the car park (above), which won’t take more than 10 minutes. If you’re following Google Maps it leads you the wrong way as I was writing this…you want to turn left onto the road next to this car park. Then you can continue on to the place linked above where the walk starts.

For those walking, it’s just over 3km to walk there, which will add another 6km to your walk. There’s always the option of a taxi too.

MY EXPERIENCE ON THE SPA PARK TO HUKA FALLS WALK

I’ve been along the Huka Falls Walkway a few times on my recent trip to Taupo. It’s a great walk on a sunny day with the colours of the Waikato River on display. That’s not to say there’s no good time to do the walk.

From the car park, there are a few trails you could choose from, but you’ll want to follow this path going left past the water fountains. The concrete path goes for about 500 metres until you reach the Otumuheke Stream. as you approach the stream you’ll get your first views of the Waikato River.

Don’t be tempted to jump into the stream yet…make it a reward on the return. Take the path down towards the stream and the cafe at the bottom, and the path switches to a gravel track and runs in front of the cafe.

From here you’ll be diving in and out of the light canopy of the forest path following the river.

You’ll get views of the river at points which are awesome, especially when the suns out as I mentioned. Given you’re still so close to the city it’s a nifty little escape. The viewpoints are never more than 25 metres above the river level which gives you an idea of how the terrain rolls up and down along the river.

There are spots where you can swim in the river along the trail, but personally, I’d advise against this as the current can be swift, and you’ll head straight towards the Huka Falls which is not ideal…just hang out in the designated hot pools area.

The majority of the track is gravel, but there are some dirt sections which unless it’s been raining heaps the day or two beforehand won’t leave you with any mud on you.

There’s a couple of information boards along the way that’ll let you know about the development of the area and what other attractions are nearby. I liked how well they were written and how easy they were to understand.

And then you reach the Huka Falls, reportedly New Zealand’s most-visited natural attraction.

From here there are a few different vantage points you can get. Some people will spend 5-10 minutes taking in the views…but some of you might be mesmerised for hours. I won’t tell you how long to spend here 🙂

Whenever you’re ready, it’s time to head back the way we came (if you wanted you could make a larger loop walk on the other side of the Waikato via the Redwoods Trail) to take advantage of the Otumuheke Stream and the cafe (fingers crossed it’s open).

The walk back isn’t any easier or harder than the walk there as you return back along the rolling hills.

The Otumuheke Stream is not as hot as I expected and if I look at other recent Google Reviews it would appear the water is often best described as lukewarm. So don’t get your expectations up for spa-like temperatures.

It’s a bit like the Hot Water Beaches in the Coromandel and on the Tarawera Trail…there’s some luck involved in the temperatures you get. On a hot day though, any temp works 🙂

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The Huka Falls Walk is a great walk for those wanting some light exercise. Given its location, you get to see the impressive Huka Falls, there’s a cafe on the trail, and of course the FREE stream!

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