1.0 mile
Distance
15 ft
Climb
-894 ft
Descent
00:15:47
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Chewbacca Trail
  • past supporters

Chewbacca Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
  • Riding Area
    Arapuke Forest
    Palmerston North
  • Difficulty Rating
  • Voted Difficulty
    Proline (2 votes)
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    DH, AM, XC, Fat
  • Direction
    Downhill Only
    Popular direction shown
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes up to Class 1
  • TTFs on Trail
    Berm, Drop, Rock Garden, Roller Coaster
  • Global Ranking
    #8662 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #3886 in E-Biking
  • Local Popularity
    55 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 35 in E-Biking
  • Year Opened
    2018
  • Land Owner
    Palmerston North City Council

Chewbacca is a challenging, technical trail. It is steep and gets even more difficult in the wet

Chewbacca is hand cut single track, built by Empire of Dirt in 2018. Everything is rollable, but you certainly need your bike handling and brake control dialed. Great example of a modern MTB trail / enduro ride.

The trail starts at the Park Summit and continues down to Te Ara Kaikohi at the bottom. There is also the option to cut out at the half way mark, which will take you onto Check Point Charlie. This is a good option for those looking to lap the top half of the park or wanting to lap out to the Shuttle.

Bike Park

Local Trail Association
  • trail association logo
  • Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to support
    trail development & maintenance.
More Stats for Chewbacca mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -878 ft
  • Altitude min
    558 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,437 ft
  • Altitude start
    1,437 ft
  • Altitude end
    561 ft
  • Grade
    -16.1%
  • Grade max
    -60.1%
  • Grade min
    9.5%
  • Distance climb
    377 ft
  • Distance down
    4,236 ft
  • Distance flat
    833 ft
  • Avg time
    00:15:47
  • Avg reverse time
    00:13:45
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jul 21, 2023
Wet
Avg: 4.53 (7 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
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  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
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      Directions to chewbacca-159318 trailhead (-40.482770, 175.612300)
      update trails status or condition

      Chewbacca Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jul 21, 2023 @ 1:44am
      Jul 21, 2023
      pretty wet and slimy.
      Mar 1, 2023 @ 6:46am
      Mar 1, 2023
      Dec 26, 2022 @ 2:39pm
      Dec 26, 2022
      quite overgrown in places. some big ruts developing.
      Apr 10, 2022 @ 7:55pm
      Apr 10, 2022
      Running pretty well after a few days of rain. A few ruts developing, aswell as it becoming a bit overgrown in places.
      Mar 12, 2021 @ 4:06pm
      Mar 12, 2021
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 4 rides
      • 10 miles avg distance
      All
      • 58 rides
      • Last: Jun 14, 2025

      Photos

      more »
      25 |
      Mar 7, 2023 @ 8:44pm
      Mar 7, 2023
      45 |
      Mar 7, 2023 @ 8:44pm
      Mar 7, 2023
      202 |
      Mar 17, 2019 @ 12:46am
      Mar 17, 2019
      330 |
      Feb 14, 2019 @ 2:48pm
      Feb 14, 2019

      Routes with this trail

      titledistance
      Schools MTB Fest - Enduro - Stage 51,916 ft

      2 Reviews & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      youtuber FAST & TECHY - Chewbacca Mountain Bike...
      6:10 | 837 | Feb 1, 2021 , Palmerston North
      youtuber Chewbacca @ Arapuke Forest Trails
      7:11 | 743 | Jan 9, 2019 , Palmerston North
      Arapuke Chewbacca
      6:49 | 756 | Dec 28, 2019 , Palmerston North
      Wookiee move - big case
      0:04 | 202 | Oct 2, 2021 , Palmerston North
      • By dirtologistTF Pro MMBC & contributors
      • #159318 - 3,529 views

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