The Walks of Piha

The walks worth doing in and around Piha, ranging from the easy and family-friendly to the genuinely demanding day-long loop. Track status changes; check current conditions before setting out.

Piha is as much a bush destination as a beach one, and the walks are part of why people who came for the beach end up coming back for the wider landscape. The Waitākere Ranges that the village sits inside contain some of the last great kauri stands in Auckland, dramatic coastal cliffs, multiple waterfalls, and a network of tracks that range from a half-hour family stroll to a serious day's tramping.

Before you go, two practical notes that apply to all of them:

❋ The Kauri dieback

All track entrances have shoe-cleaning stations. Use them, every time, even if you've cleaned your shoes already that day. The disease that's killing the kauri trees is spread by soil on footwear, and it's the single most consequential thing visitors can do to protect the bush they came to see. Track sections sometimes close at short notice for kauri protection; respect closures absolutely.

❋ Track Status

Auckland Council manages the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park and publishes current track conditions. Tracks open, close, partially open, and reroute on schedules that change. Check the Auckland Council track status page (or any current-conditions source the site eventually links to) before you set out. A track described here as "open and accessible" may be partially closed by the time you read this; the character of each walk doesn't change, but its current status does.