Link Pathway - Section 1

At the Picton end, the trail now starts right at the Bluebridge terminal - not over the ridge as shown on the map (current as at January 2021).
The trail is beautifully maintained and the surrounding bush is fantastic. For fit, confident riders this lives up to it’s ‘easy’ description. My wife is still finding her feet on an MTB and found the climbs pretty exhausting, especially combined with a few winding pinch-climbs. It was an awesome progression ride for her, and would likewise be for other beginners... just don’t expect gentle undulations and meter-wide trails as shown in most of the publicity shots.
Highly recommend the ride - we made it all the way to Anikiwa and back, albeit with a fair chunk done on the road to ease back on the mental challenge of learning new skills!

A great asset to the area, a huge thanks to The Link Pathway Trust. The track is well marked and in the bush on smooth trails, enough ups and downs to give you a good workout. The southern end start is a little closer to Picton now than is marked at the time I'm write this, so if driving by keep an eye out for the Link Pathways signs for the start of the track. Maybe one day this could start in Picton proper. If you had kids with you, riding out from Picton on Queen Charlotte Drive itself the to the start of the track would not be ideal.

The northern end of "Section 1" is where the track crosses Queen Charlotte Drive a little north of which is a car pull-over area on the eastern side of the road. Not an ideal spot to be picked up or dropped off but there is room for multiple vehicles. Momorangi Bay (by including that section of the Link Pathway) is a
great pickup/dropoff point with feed & refreshments and also a camping ground and
playground for young kids.

Combined with the Link Pathway section to Momorangi Bay this is a perfect side trip for those with bikes on the back of their car and a driver willing to hang around in Picton for an hour or two and then pick you up from Momorangi Bay. You can even continue on from Momorangi Bay to Anakiwa on an easy mix of further bush and road-side tracks and you may enough energy to do the first leg of the Queen Charlotte track to Mahia Bay (with the only road riding a section through Anakiwa itself) - though getting your 'driver' to pick you up in To Mahia might be a bigger ask!