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5.8 miles
Distance
735 ft
Climb
-226 ft
Descent
00:55:07
Avg time
509 ft
Altitude change
1,200 ft
Altitude min
1,709 ft
Altitude max
1,201 ft
Altitude start
1,709 ft
Altitude end
1.7%
Grade
-19.7%
Grade max
19.9%
Grade min
4 miles
Distance climb
1 mile
Distance down
5,056 ft
Distance flat
00:55:07
Avg time
Orakau Details
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Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
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Riding AreaGreat Lake Trails
Taupo -
Difficulty Rating
-
Local Popularity50 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 55 in Trail Running
- 5 in Hiking
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Global Ranking
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National Ranking
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Trail TypeSingletrack
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Bike TypeAM, XC
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Climb DifficultyBlue
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Physical RatingModerate
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Dogs AllowedYes
From the Whangamata Road carpark, the trail follows the Orakau Stream and Harakeke (flax) wetland through regenerating native bush down to Kawakawa Bay on the edge of Lake Taupō. The trail is generally downhill and offers views across the lake to the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park. Remember, as with the other Great Lake Trails, this track is two way.
This trail makes up part of the Great Lake Cycle Trails (along with the K2K and W2K trails).
The Great Lake Trails are maintained by Bike Taupō with local support and National Cycleways funding. Please take a few minutes and take this survey to help us procure continuing funding support.
https://survey.getsmartglobal.com/survey/?question=52925
Local Trail Association
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Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to supportDonate to earn trail karma!
trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 2 rides
- 20 miles average
6 Months
- 16 rides
- 20 miles avg distance
All
- 192 rides
- Last: Sep 28, 2026
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
Orakau Trail Reports
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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
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Used
Trailforks scans activity logs 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 activity logs 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 activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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- popular
- less popular
- not popular
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Activity Recordings
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Activity Recordings
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Winter Trails
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Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
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BC Backroad Status
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Directions to orakau trailhead
(-38.665380, 175.869970)
Photos
12 more »
Videos
1 more »
Routes with this trail
36 miles • 3,990 ft • 5 • Loop • Race •
Stage 2 of the volcanic epic
7 Reviews & Comments
JH2K
Rode this from lake up to the road today. Track is pretty wet and a bit slippery, but nothing that will slow anyone down too much. Some nice views of the lake from lower down, and more open, flowy trail further up.
Tully01
Rode this yesterday as part of doing the loop anti clockwise from Kinloch, a tree down in the wetlands area about 3.3kms south of Whangamata trailhead. We managed to cut a couple of branches to allow bikes through. The trail had a few mud patches after recent rain but generally fun on the downhill run to Kawakawa Bay. Trails was busy with walkers and riders.
SpringerNZ
Great ride down from the main road. Then home via K2K.
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Nearby Trails
- Otaketake 2 miles
- Whangamata Stream Walkway 2 miles
- K2k 3 miles
- W2k 3 miles
- Headland Ne Overlook 3 miles
- By YogiNZ & contributors
- #28701 - 8,360 views
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