11.6 miles
Distance
2,310 ft
Climb
-2,294 ft
Descent
1,449 ft
High Point
14 ft
Altitude change
552 ft
Altitude min
552 ft
Altitude start
568 ft
Altitude end
-61.7%
Grade max
55.3%
Grade min
5 miles
Distance climb
5 miles
Distance down
2 miles
Distance flat

All the trails in the park less the grade 5 trails and jump track.

From Kahuterawa Rd car park head up the road across Black Bridge and up Back Track to the top, around 4k of climbing to get the legs warmed up.

Once at the top car park head into Ice Breaker and follow it round till it joins Riff Raff and continues up to the Container Hub. Across the road from the hub Mr Twister heads down the hill till it meets ZigZag Rd, cross and continue down Humpty Jumpty to the Culvert Hub. Cross ZigZag Rd and head up Checkpoint Charlie till the intersection with Jack and the Beanstalk, carry on up Jack and the Beanstalk till you reach the seat at the top. From the seat ride up Arapuke Rd till it reaches an obvious crest with a turn up to the right, carry on straight ahead and 50m down the road Yeah Nah is on your right. At the end of Yeah Nah the trail rejoins Checkpoint Charlie for 100m or so, Siberian Express turns off to the right. Climb back up to Arapuke Rd, ride along the gravel for 100m or so till you see another trail post on your left, drop in to continue down a short tech chute then follow the trail right around till it exits on the end of Checkpoint Charlie. Turn right and head back up the gravel rd (Arapuke Rd) till you see the entrance to Number 8 Wire on your left. Follow Number 8 down till it connects into About Time then continue to the bottom of the trail, before the bridge at the bottom turn hard right and head up Billy Goat, this takes you back to the start of Rocky. Rocky has a short steep roll in at the start and then winds down to a rocky knoll which is a challenge to climb, (this is near to Rambo turn off) follow Rocky past Rambo turn off and wind your way back up to Riff Raff, there are a few rock steps on the way. At Riff Raff turn left and drop back to the intersection of Arapuke Rd and Zig Zag Rd, head down Rhythm and Vines to Back Track, turn right and head back to Black Bridge and the Kahuterawa Car Park.

Detailed Description
The K Loop Classic is a 12 mile moderately popular advanced route located near Palmerston North. This mountain bike only route can be used one direction. This route includes 197 trails. This route climbs 2,310 ft with a max elevation of 1,449 ft then descends -2,294 ft.

Trail Issues on Route

  • Minor Issue / Yellow: 1 trail (newest: Jan 16, 2026)

Stats

  • Distance
    12 miles
  • Avg time
    3 hr 1 min
  • Altitude min
    552 ft
  • Altitude start
    552 ft
  • Altitude end
    568 ft
  • Climb
    2,310 ft
  • Descent
    -2,294 ft
  • Grade max
    -61.7%
  • Grade min
    55.3%
  • Distance climb
    5 miles
  • Distance down
    5 miles
  • Distance flat
    2 miles

18 Reviews & Comments


We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

Create a FREE account to view route comments and much more.

Create a Free Account

Trails in Route

Details

  • Riding area
    Arapuke Forest
  • Primary Activity
    Mountain Bike
  • Difficulty rating
    Advanced
  • Route Type
    Loop
  • Bike type
    AM, XC, Fat
  • Direction
    One Direction
  • Ridelogs
    2
no votes yet
close
  • Basemap  Map 
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
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.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
cell carrier legend

Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data. ?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data. ?
Personal Heatmap
▶ Activity Types
all / none
▶ Options
2
Date range month
–
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status

Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.

map legend
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Flat N NE E SE S SW W NW
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Enable
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type

    Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

    Save
    Trail transparency
    view larger map
    • Singletrack
    • Unpaved

    Photos

    more photos »
    63
    55
    46
    44

    Videos

    more videos »
    i am still bad
    i am still bad
    trail: Mr Twister
    0:09 | | comments: 0 | favs:
    Mar 12, 2023
    why am i so bad?

    Recent Trail Reports Along Route

    statustraildateconditiondescription
    Back Track
    Jan 17, 2026 @ 11:40am (Pacific/Auckland)
    Jan 16, 2026
    		Great climb track. Nice and wide. Small branch down about 3kms in covering half of track.
    Rhythm and Vines
    Jan 17, 2026 @ 11:38am (Pacific/Auckland)
    Jan 16, 2026
    		The "kiwi summer" has kept this spicy. Slides and fishtails into most corners. Vegetation creeping into track. Needs some love.
    Humpty Jumpty
    Oct 25, 2025 @ 6:03pm (Pacific/Auckland)
    Oct 24, 2025
    		Good trail conditions
    Mr Twister
    Oct 25, 2025 @ 5:57pm (Pacific/Auckland)
    Oct 24, 2025
    		Good condition
    About Time
    Sep 1, 2024 @ 11:24pm
    Sep 1, 2024
    		Wet but not too wet
    more reports »
    • By dirtologistTF Pro MMBC & contributors
    • #5123 - 6,533 views

    Hit the Trail

    Open in App

    Get this route on your phone instantly.

    Download Route

    Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.