3 miles
Distance
1,082 ft
Climb
-472 ft
Descent
09:23:57
Avg time

Back Track Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Arapuke Forest
    Palmerston North
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Doubletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat
  • Trail Usage
    Multi-use
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Green
  • Physical Rating
    Easy
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Family Friendly
    Yes
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes
  • TTFs on Trail
    Bridge
  • Global Ranking
    #33092 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    65 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 45 in E-Biking
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 5 in Hiking

The old classic A two way trail open to bikers and walkers only, be aware of oncoming bikers and particularly in Summer, there are lots of walkers passing through as it is part of the Te Araroa National Walkway.

This is the main access trail for the park leading you up to Pūpū Rahi around 900m from the start.

The trail is a nice uphill climb to the Scotts Rd carpark, the surface is rocky and there are 4 creek crossings on the way up which can make your feet wet if there has been a lot of rain. The first part climbs through a gully of native bush before opening out above farmland which gives a nice view back to where you started, this is a good spot to take a breather on the seat kindly provided by the PN City Council. The second half of the track sidles around the hill steadily gaining elevation. This part of the track has a fun short downhill section before the last climb to the top. Back track is only open to bikers and walkers but it is occasionally used by farm and council vehicles.

Backtrack is an old paper road that is part of the Te Araroa Walkway which has reverted back to a nice natural 4wd drive road climb through native bush.

Access Info

Accessed by veering right after crossing black bridge at the end of Kahuterawa Rd.

Local Trail Association
More Stats for Back Track mountain bike trail
  • Altitude change
    608 ft
  • Altitude min
    512 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,163 ft
  • Altitude start
    525 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,132 ft
  • Grade
    4.4%
  • Grade max
    -45.6%
  • Grade min
    56.1%
  • Distance climb
    2 miles
  • Distance down
    4,308 ft
  • Distance flat
    1,194 ft
  • Avg time
    09:23:57
  • Avg reverse time
    00:09:57
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jan 7, 2020
Wet
Avg: 3.35 (6 votes)

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Ridden Direction
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
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  • < 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
ContributeDetails
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  • Description
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  • 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.
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LEGEND
Trail Difficulties
  • Access Road/Trail
  • White
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Black
  • Double Black Diamond

Trail Report Status
  • Clear / Green
  • Minor Issue / Yellow
  • Significant Issue / Amber
  • Closed

  • Land Owner Overlay
  • Wilderness (typically no bikes in USA)
  • BLM (public)
  • USFS (Wildlife sanctuaries darker than usfs)
  • State land
  • Indigenous
  • Military
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
  • Map Markers
  • trail Trail Head
  • photo Photo
  • place Directory Listing
  • region Riding Area
  • TTF TTF
  • Parking Parking
  • Viewpoint Viewpoint
  • Information Information
  • Warning Warning
  • Directions Directions
  • Sight Sight
  • Restrooms Restrooms
  • eBike Charging Point eBike Charging Point
  • Water Fountain/Source Water Fountain/Source
  • Gate Gate
  • Trail Sign Trail Sign
  • Table or Bench Table or Bench
  • Ladder Ladder
  • Stairs Stairs
  • Bridge Bridge
  • Camping Camping
  • Cabin Cabin
  • Lodge Lodge
  • Bear Cache Bear Cache
  • Dock Dock
  • Ranger Station Ranger Station
  • Summit Summit
  • Other Other
      Directions to back-track trailhead (-40.470221, 175.612201)
      update trails status or condition

      Back Track Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jan 7, 2020 @ 3:54pm
      Jan 7, 2020
      		 Surprisingly damp under the trees.
      Jul 27, 2019 @ 5:37pm
      Jul 27, 2019
      		 A few wet spots and a bit mossy on some of the rocks, and of course the wet feet through the streams but all in all the conditions were really good
      Apr 20, 2019 @ 1:48pm
      Apr 20, 2019
      Jan 25, 2019 @ 9:02pm
      Jan 25, 2019
      		 Couple of wet patches, nothing dramatic, wet feet through the river crossings but that just adds to the fun
      Jan 11, 2019 @ 2:46pm
      Jan 11, 2019
      		 slip has been cleared and Back Track is now ridable, look out for residual debris and stationary machinery
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 2 rides
      • 44 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 123 rides
      • 14 miles avg distance
      All
      • 370 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      41 |
      Aug 27, 2018 @ 3:48am
      Aug 27, 2018
      37 |
      Aug 27, 2018 @ 3:48am
      Aug 27, 2018
      29 |
      Aug 27, 2018 @ 3:47am
      Aug 27, 2018
      49 |
      Aug 27, 2018 @ 3:47am
      Aug 27, 2018

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titleratingdistance
      The K Loop Classic
      		12 miles
      Family Flight
      		6 miles
      Family Flow
      		6 miles
      Arapuke Classic 2019 - Lap 1 race
      		8 miles

      1 Review & Comments

      • + 0
      flag GrahamPudney (Mar 28, 2019 at 23:00)
       Good slog climb to the top.
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



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