Bush & Beach Walks
Recommended Walking Tracks in Piha Area and Nearby
Piha beach and the surrounding area contain an abundance of awesome bush and beach walks and several waterfalls.
Piha Beachstay is centrally located in Piha at the heart of the Waitakere Ranges with easy access to all of the nearby walks.
22nd Feb 2019: Some of the tracks that walk through the forest are currently closed and being upgraded to help protect the iconic Kauri trees from Kauri dieback disease. Please observe the signage at the track entrances for information. See below for tracks that are open or closed.
Quick History
Piha has a interesting history dating from the early days of the Maori - Te Kawerau a Maki during the 17th Century through to the European Settlers arriving in the 1830
Kauri Timber Milling endured over the 1850's to 1930's. To help transport the kauri logs to the mill, as many as 100 dams were built in the ranges during the 19th and early 20th centuries, some of which can still be found,
Probably the most remarkable achievement was the 14 km Tramway taking timber down the coast along beaches and over steep bluffs to the Paratutae Wharf at Whatipu.
By the time the timber fellers had finished they had taken 1.2 million cubic metres of timber leaving bare hills and a few remote stands of mature kauri. With the development of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park the forest is well on the way to a full recovery.
Geological History of the Waitakere Ranges dates back 22 million years to when the Waitakere Volcano erupted from the sea floor for 75 million years. It gradually grew until it was 50km in diameter and 3000m in height forming islands above the ocean. You can see the rock of the waitakeres is a mixture of rocks, gravel sand and water from the underwater lahars.
About 16 million years ago the Waitakere Volcano was thrust up out of the sea and was slowly eroded over the next 10 million years leaving behind the ridges, gullies and volcanic bombs