20.6 miles
Distance
2,792 ft
Climb
-2,828 ft
Descent
1,749 ft
High Point

The new Whakarewarewa Forest Loop is a 33km one-way route around the forest. The ride runs clockwise around the forest, across the Tokorangi Face (which overlooks the city), through the new Te Pūtake o Tawa car park, past Lake Tikitapu, through to the existing Te Ara Ahi path on SH5 to connect to the Waipa mountain bike car park.

The Rotorua Trails Trust has taken this community idea and created a day-long ride that will be achievable even for less experienced cyclists. The loop has been created around iconic features that Rotorua mountain biking is renowned for – fun trails, Māori culture, Redwood trees, geothermal activity, and stunning views. As part of the wider forest development project which is supported by MBIE’s Provincial Growth Fund, Rotorua Lakes Council have been working closely with Rotorua Trails Trust, CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd, and mana whenua, to make this concept a reality.

The loop is a Grade 2 to 3 track designed to be accessible for people of almost all ages, abilities and fitness levels. You don’t need to be a professional downhiller; as long as you’re a confident rider, you’ll find the variety of uphill, downhill and flat sections interesting, fun and fairly easy to navigate.

Detailed Description
Whakarewarewa Forest Loop (Official) is a 21 mile popular easy route located near Rotorua. This mountain bike primary route can be used one direction and has a easy overall physical rating. This route includes 14 trails. This route climbs 2,792 ft with a max elevation of 1,749 ft then descends -2,828 ft.
Local Trail Association
Local trail association
Rotorua Trails Trust (rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz)
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
donate to earn trail karma!

Trail Products

17 Reviews & Comments


We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

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

Details

  • Riding area
  • Primary Activity
    Mountain Bike
  • Other Activities
    • E-Bike
  • AKA
    Forest Loop
  • Difficulty rating
    Green
  • Route Type
    Loop
  • eBike Allowed
  • Direction
    One Direction
  • Physical rating
    Easy
  • Ridelogs
    59
More Stats for Whakarewarewa Forest Loop (Official) mountain bike route
  • Avg time
    2 hr 13 min
  • Altitude min
    1,054 ft
  • Altitude start
    1,092 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,053 ft
  • Grade max
    -72.1%
  • Grade min
    51.6%
  • Distance climb
    8 miles
  • Distance down
    10 miles
  • Distance flat
    2 miles

Directions

  1. Walk north on Forest Loop, Mud Pool Link.
  2. Continue for 3 kilometers.
Avg: 5 (3 votes)
close
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
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
x 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.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

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

Save
Trail transparency
28
19
13
13

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Forest Loop, Te Koromete Tītokorangi
May 17, 2024 @ 6:25pm
2 days
Forest Loop, Tarawera Road Trail
May 17, 2024 @ 6:25pm
2 days
Forest Loop, Tūhua (Part 2)
May 17, 2024 @ 6:25pm
2 days
Forest Loop - Arepa Weherua
May 17, 2024 @ 6:25pm
2 days
Forest Loop, Te Pikitanga Whangapipiro (Mud Pool)
May 17, 2024 @ 6:25pm
2 days
more reports »
  • By KrisOD RTT & contributors
  • #34549 - 14,572 views