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Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
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Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
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      The Great Lake Trails offer an epic biking experience. The trails have been purpose built by bikers since 2006. We don't have bits of forestry road, old tramways or shingle. It's all trail. You may see some old totara posts and wire, the remnants of fencing from an age when people believed farming was the answer. The regeneration of the bush has occurred since the mid-1960's when the land was left to return to its natural state. The trails are all two way so be prepared to meet other cyclists as well as walkers and runners who sometimes have a dog.

      The trails follow the shores of beautiful Lake Taupō, and take in the stunning views across the water to the majestic volcanic mountains of the Tongariro National Park. Enjoy extensive native bush, dramatic scenery, serene lake views, powerful waterfalls, lyrical bird song and much more.

      Currently the GLT is split as below:

      1) On the western side of Lake Taupo is a 30 km section (Waihora & Waihaha) There are two road access points and one lake access point.

      2) On the northern side is a further 52 km of track in two sections (Orakau, K2K, Otaketake and W2K & Headland). These trails have three road access points and one lake access point.

      Cycle the whole track in two or three days or break it up and choose the sections/links you want to experience.

      The Great Lake Trails are maintained by Bike Taupō with local support and National Cycleways funding. Please take a few minutes and take this survey to help us procure continuing funding support.
      source: Great lake
      Primary Trail Type: Cross-Country
      Shuttleable: YES
      Land Status: Conservation Reserve
      Whangamata Rd Car Park google parking directions
      Links
      featured
      Activities Click to view
      Region Details
      • 7

      Region Status
      Caution as of 3 days
      Local Trail Association

      Stats

      Avg Trail Rating
      Trails (view details)
      8
      Trails Mountain Bike
      7
      Trails E-Bike
      2
      Trails Hike
      8
      Trails Trail Running
      7
      Total Distance
      52 miles
      Total Descent
      7,052 ft
      Total Vertical
      935 ft
      Highest Trailhead
      2,114 ft
      Reports
      226
      Photos
      135
      Ridden Counter
      3,834

      Popular Great Lake Trails Mountain Biking Trails

      Great Lake Trails Mountain Bike Routes

      titleratingdistance
      Volcanic Epic - Stage 2 (Taupo) race
      36 miles
      17 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog17 miles
      17 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog17 miles
      14 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog14 miles
      23 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog23 miles
      15 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog15 miles
      9 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog9 miles
      18 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog18 miles
      9 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog9 miles
      13 mile Great Lake Trails Ridepopular ridelog13 miles

      Recent Ride Log Activity in Region

      Today
      • 0 rides
      Yesterday
      • 0 rides
      Past Week
      • 13 rides

      Photos of Great Lake Trails Mountain Bike

      52 |
      Sep 18, 2023 @ 7:41pm
      Sep 18, 2023
      trail: K2K
      18 |
      Sep 17, 2023 @ 8:50pm
      Sep 17, 2023
      trail: K2K
      23 |
      Sep 17, 2023 @ 8:50pm
      Sep 17, 2023
      trail: W2K
      14 |
      Jul 10, 2023 @ 1:46pm
      Jul 10, 2023
      trail: W2K
      45 |
      Jan 8, 2022 @ 4:26pm
      Jan 8, 2022
      trail: W2K
      40 |
      Dec 31, 2021 @ 3:37pm
      Dec 31, 2021
      trail: K2K
      75 |
      Jul 17, 2021 @ 2:57am
      Jul 17, 2021
      trail: W2K
      181 |
      Feb 13, 2019 @ 6:04pm
      Feb 13, 2019

      Videos of Great Lake Trails Mountain Bike

      Our Ride in Taupo
      trail: W2K
      0:05 | 548 | Jan 21, 2011
      Great Lake MTB Trails - Waihaha Section
      2:57 | 443 | Mar 10, 2022 , Taupo
      MTB over Sixty - Otaketake - Great Lake Trails
      trail: Otaketake
      12:30 | 556 | Jul 17, 2021 , Taupo
      Great Lake MTB Trails - W2K Headland Loop - 4K
      trail: W2K
      2:59 | 790 | Jan 25, 2021 , Taupo
      Great Lake MTB Trails - Waihora Section - 4K
      3:32 | 455 | Jan 25, 2021 , Taupo
      youtuber Great Lake Trail, Taupo: Orakau to Kawakawa...
      trail: Orakau
      18:54 | 888 | Jul 19, 2018 , Taupo
      youtuber K2K - Great Lake Trail, Taupo [Ep#43]
      trail: K2K
      15:28 | 931 | Jul 27, 2018 , Taupo
      Great Lake Trail New Zealand:Kinloch to...
      trail: K2K
      8:31 | 871 | Apr 17, 2018 , Taupo

      Recent Trail Reports

      statustraildateconditioninfouser
      W2K
      Feb 8, 2025 @ 12:59am
      3 days
      IdealDry and in good condition, lots of riders...eRichardP
      Otaketake
      Jan 31, 2025 @ 9:59pm
      Jan 31, 2025
      Ideal Tree across the track, can push bikes underScottFraser
      Orakau
      Dec 30, 2024 @ 7:40am
      Dec 30, 2024
      IdealE-Bike In good nickmwjimmy56
      Headland Loop
      Dec 24, 2024 @ 8:34am
      Dec 24, 2024
      IdealA little bit of pig rooting on the sides...mwjimmy56
      K2K
      Oct 27, 2024 @ 9:21am
      Oct 27, 2024
      VariableSandygulang
      Headland NE Overlook
      Oct 21, 2024 @ 1:27pm
      Oct 21, 2024
      DryE-Bike graeme-mtb
      Great Lake Trails - Waihaha Trail
      Apr 26, 2024 @ 2:47pm
      Apr 26, 2024
      VariableGreat riding but there is some leaf...Pukie123

      Activity Feed

      usernameactiontypetitledate
      eRichardPaddreportactivity #65864794
      Feb 8, 2025 @ 12:59am
      3 days
      ScottFraseraddreportactivity #65494977
      Jan 31, 2025 @ 9:59pm
      Jan 31, 2025
      Tombraiderriddentrailactivity #65273775
      Jan 27, 2025 @ 8:06am
      Jan 27, 2025
      tpatrickno1riddentrailactivity #64742559 and 4 more
      Jan 17, 2025 @ 12:05pm
      Jan 17, 2025
      Mikeonwaiheke101riddentrailactivity #64648225 and 2 more
      Jan 15, 2025 @ 12:50pm
      Jan 15, 2025

      Recent Comments

      usernametypetitlecommentdate
      vunugutrailOtaketakeGreat track. Lots of swooping corners and dips...
      May 10, 2024 @ 9:57pm
      May 10, 2024
      MurrayLtrailOrakauOk
      Apr 16, 2024 @ 12:34am
      Apr 16, 2024
      ScottnMT1YAtrailK2KGreat track, well maintained. Careful of walkers.
      Mar 30, 2024 @ 9:44pm
      Mar 30, 2024
      PhilntAWb9trailHeadland LoopSome fun sections in here. We rode it in the...
      Oct 3, 2023 @ 11:14am
      Oct 3, 2023
      PhilntAWb9trailW2KEnjoyable ride, though was quite slippery in...
      Oct 3, 2023 @ 11:11am
      Oct 3, 2023

      Nearby Areas

      namedistance
      Kinloch 92 km
      Craters Mountain Bike Park / Wairakei Forest 20 23 1 18.6 km
      Huka Trails 10 59.7 km
      Mount Tauhara12.4 km
      Pureora Forest Park18.7 km

      Activity Type Stats

      activitytypetrailsdistancedescentdescent distancetotal verticalratingglobal rankstate rankphotosreportsroutesridelogs
      Mountain Bike750 miles6,542 ft20 miles935 ft
      #1,780#6412122612,831
      E-Bike226 miles712 ft10 miles784 ft
      #1,224#5213172521
      Hike852 miles7,051 ft22 miles935 ft
      #1,353#39122524
      Trail Running745 miles6,339 ft19 miles935 ft
      #1,518#442111134
      • By MCGMana & contributors
      • Admins: BikeTaupõ, robben
      • #8696 - 9,026 views

      Downloading of trail gps tracks in kml & gpx formats is enabled for Great Lake Trails.
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