Winter may traditionally be the time to rug up and stay indoors, but outdoors in Hawke’s Bay beckons with mild temperatures, blue skies and wide-open spaces.
The Pan Pac Mountain Bike Park is just 10 minutes drive north of Napier. With an extensive network and a variety of trails ranging from Grade 1-5, there is riding for all abilities. See stunning views of the Bay across Māhia Peninsula, Napier Hill, Cape Kidnappers and Te Mata Peak.
Te Mata Park, including the iconic peak 399-metres above Havelock North, offers well-established trails and you can guarantee that your legs will be burning on the climbs and your eyes popping on the fast descents. Te Mata Park is open to walkers, runners, unleashed dogs and riders, so make sure you stick to the signposted mountain biking trails.
Stretching out in both directions from Russell Park, the Tukituki Trail mountain bike tracks run alongside the limestone cycling trails in the Tukituki River berm. Weaving in the shade of the willow trees this grade 2 track is a great introduction to mountain biking. For some even greater thrills, Gum Tree Mountain Bike Park - located at the end of Mt Herbert Road, Waipukurau - has a number of tracks, ranging in difficulty and is a great day out for the whole family.
Two years in the making, Hawke's Bay's newest mountain bike park is located on a 26-hectare site on the southern edge of Wairoa township. The track incorporates 7km of trails and is loosely based on Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Redwoods Mountain Bike Park. Riders can enjoy a mix of grade two, three and four trails.
Ranui Farm Park is a working sheep and beef farm, which has some mountain bike trails alongside many other adventure activities including water slide, flying fox, archery, paintball and a large playground. Great for a family day out!
It’s open from September to May on the first Sunday of each month (9am - 3pm). Enjoy a mountain bike ride over rolling hills and through native bush on purpose built tracks and farmland or run or walk if that’s more to your liking.
We’ll keep you in the loop with upcoming events in Hawke’s Bay, cool stuff to do, the hottest places to eat and drink, and some enticing deals.
