Huka Falls Walkway — Attraction in North Island

The Huka Falls Walk is a great place for runners, walkers, dogs, & children. The walk can take around 30-45 minutes depending on your walking speed. It climbs & falls along the river with towering pines & dancing fantails. As you get closer to the falls, you can hear the roar of the falls and the trail flattens out. As you walk, there is one lookout & a bench with fabulous views. You can view the falls from multiple vantage points so take your time to explore. There’s an additional lookout if you follow the path to the Aratiatia Rapids, it’s a bit of a climb & worth it. You can see the luxurious Huka Lodge on the banks on the opposite side of the river on your return trip. Plenty of open spaces for dogs to run free & swim in the river. There’s also a Frisbee Golf course. Most people come for the thermal waters that flow into the river though it’s hit & miss as to the...

We walked the Huka trails in winter. The path was well maintained, not really slippery despite mud due to some rainfall. You can reach the start of the track by navigating towards the thermal spa. By foot, it took us around 30 minutes from the town center. If you follow the path, you will reach the starting point where it is clearly indicated which path is meant to be walked on and the mountain biking track. At a moderate pace and taking in the scenary, you can reach the falls in 60-90 minutes. The path goes up and down a bit. You will have pretty views of the river, see some aesthetic bridge crossings and breath the fresh forest smells. From the Huka falls, we tried to extend our hike towards Craters of the Moon park. There is a track up until the helicopter area, from there it seemed not very suitable for...

There are two pathways. One for people on bikes and one for people on foot. The footway appears to send you off into the bushes ..but in fact the access is behind the coffee shop with #loveOtumaheke written on top of it (which is the other side of the park by the swim area).

If you're a serious walker, then you will find this trail uninteresting. Its just an undulating gravel path on the edge of the forest, with glimpses through bushy undergrowth of the water. The higway on the opposite bank of the river is also noisy.

View of the falls when you eventually get to the end of the walk is rewarding. Approx 45 minutes walk each way from the swim area. This is not a circular walk.

Personally unless you need the exercise, I would just drive to the car park by the falls. There are more beautiful walks...