4,531 ft
Distance
33 ft
Climb
-166 ft
Descent
00:05:48
Avg time

Dragon's Tail Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
  • Riding Area
    Whakarewarewa Forest
    Rotorua
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Downhill Only
    Popular direction shown
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes up to Class 1
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #789 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #746 in E-Biking
  • Local Popularity
    90 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 80 in E-Biking

Undulating and flowing, the hardpack surface is fast rolling. Able to be ridden slowly with no difficult features. Still lots of fun to ride fast and link up the turns at warp speed.

Turn right as you enter a clearing about half way down the trail, to roll through a great sequence of berms.
(If you were to take the left hand fork when you see the clearing and berms you would be on Te Ara Puna trail which climbs to a high point then drops through a tight bermed section to a clearing and a forest road that takes you to the Duck Pond on Larch Rd.)

After the berms on Dragon's Tail there is more fast and flowy singletrack before hitting some challenging little pinch climbs into tight switchbacks towards the end.
Like most trails, this will be one that really rewards riding it a lot - as you get to know it, it just gets faster and better. Take care at the exits on to Red Tank Rd. There are several options including a couple of steep chutes that take you (very quickly) onto Red Tank Rd.

source: Ride Rotorua
Access Info

This runs from Red Tank Rd with the entrance on the left hand side not far down from Bunny Jugs (and Be Rude Not To)

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Dragon's Tail mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -135 ft
  • Altitude min
    1,229 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,376 ft
  • Altitude start
    1,376 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,240 ft
  • Grade
    -3%
  • Grade max
    -16.7%
  • Grade min
    14.1%
  • Distance climb
    1,043 ft
  • Distance down
    2,808 ft
  • Distance flat
    682 ft
  • Avg time
    00:05:48
  • Avg reverse time
    00:12:54
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jun 20, 2022
Dry
Avg: 4.4 (22 votes)
Your vote: 0

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (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%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
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  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
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  • > 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
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  • 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.
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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
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Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
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      Directions to dragon-s-tail trailhead (-38.170830, 176.289730)
      update trails status or condition

      Dragon's Tail Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jun 20, 2022 @ 3:53pm
      Jun 20, 2022
      		 reporter
      Tree Cleared CK/AF
      Jun 5, 2022 @ 7:35pm
      Jun 5, 2022
      		 reporter
      Surface clear and drainage
      Jun 4, 2022 @ 8:06pm
      Jun 4, 2022
      		 reporter
      Trees cleared
      Jun 3, 2022 @ 11:12pm
      Jun 3, 2022
      		 reporter Second tree down near end of trail passable
      Jun 3, 2022 @ 6:22pm
      Jun 3, 2022
      		 Lots of sticks around the trail from recent wind n rain
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 28 rides
      • 16 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 692 rides
      • 20 miles avg distance
      All
      • 6,190 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      0 |
      Jun 20, 2022 @ 3:55pm
      Jun 20, 2022
      0 |
      Jun 10, 2022 @ 4:05pm
      Jun 10, 2022
      23 |
      May 21, 2022 @ 3:00pm
      May 21, 2022
      334 |
      Oct 2, 2012 @ 6:53am
      Oct 2, 2012

      Trail Lists

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      HIGHLANDER MTB Marathon41 miles
      Advanced Mountain Bike Loop - K2, Billy T, Riff Raff, Rocky Horror16 miles
      K2, Hot Cross Buns, Dragon's Tail, Challenge DH, Rockdrop Route - RideSpots.com10 miles
      Some of Whakarewarewa's Finest17 miles

      Trail Products

      3 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      Simon175 (Mar 1, 2020 at 0:13)
       Tree down approx 100m in. 1 March 2020
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      kaiwero (Dec 9, 2021 at 13:10)
       Tree down just before the end of the trail
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      Dannz87 (May 21, 2022 at 14:58)
       Tree down just past skid site blocking trail
      [Reply]





      Videos

      more »
      youtuber XC FUN - Dragon's Tail Mountain Bike Trail...
      5:15 | 283 | May 3, 2021 , Rotorua
      youtuber Dragons Tail @ Whakarewarewa Forest
      5:59 | 309 | Nov 15, 2019 , Rotorua
      Dragons Tail, Rotorua - A small CRASH can't...
      5:29 | 251 | Aug 22, 2019 , Rotorua
      youtuber Fun flowly XC: Dragon's Tail || Redwood...
      12:28 | 409 | Jan 26, 2019 , Rotorua

      Nearby Trails

      Whakarewarewa Forest