Urban
Loop
Undulating, small hills only
Dog Friendly
Plantation/exotic forest
Beach
Coastal
Sealed Road
Easy Single Track
Average Uphill Gradient: +2.9%
Average Downhill Gradient: -6.5%
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1:20
Slow
1:00
Moderate
0:40
Fast
A nice loop near the water and close to downtown. Not all on trails but connects a good section of boardwalks/parks and loops around Hobson Bay. A decent route & a prime-time location. Option to add an additional 3km with a loop around Orakei Basin on the lower east corner by taking the bike path south-east along the causeway from the Orakei Railway Station, turning right, and following the park trails around the edge of the basin, until one returns to the Railway Station.
General comment in regards to navigation, at the start, after crossing the pedestrian bridge over Tamaki Dr, take the second road on the left (Awetea Rd.) down to the end to catch the trail. (or try every road if you want some hill repeats!) After that, mostly just stay as close to the water as you can, and look for park trails & boardwalks. The only timing consideration for this track is the first very short section of beach between Awetea Rd and Logan Terrace, should be run at med-low tide. This can be detoured by taking Waitoa St up the hill, one block left and down Logan Terrace to re-join the trail one block on, above the high tide mark.
Boardwalks and water's edge.
If driving to track would suggest parking at the Shore Road Reserve or street parking anywhere along route. (west and south sides preferable as roads on the north and east sides are busy)
3 km
10 minutes
Yes
No
Easy.
With the exception of the first section on the north west corner, pretty much stay as close to the water as possible. Look for boardwalks and tracks near the water. East section is more on road/sidewalks but same rule, stick near the water as possible.
Perfect throughout.
Windproof jacket, Cellphone, Map.
Take your own
Helpful to be aware of tide for the first short section on the north west corner, otherwise good all day, every day.
Vicious sea monsters and tree bats (just kidding)
Trail Legend
Fastest Known Times (FKTs)
Start and finish at any point on the run; do it in either direction. It all counts!
You and Hobson Bay Loopity
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Kinda not really a trail. Not a bad loop for a tempo run although the beach section is tricky and the boardwalks were very slippery, I nearly went over on one of the tight turns. Very picturesque, but also very busy with traffic, so not really the relaxing trails that I normally find on Wild Things....!
December 1, 2022
There is more road in there than I prefer, but also some surprisingly serene moments where you feel removed from the big city scene. I don’t think you could find a better route so close to Auckland CBD. Great way to start the day and I’d happily run it again.
September 6, 2022
A pleasant enough run close to the office in Parnell. Some of the boardwalks and steps early on are in need of repairs and it looked like this was in the process of happening. There's quite a lot of road running on this run so can't really give it more than a 3 star rating. Defo watch the tide as I went and did a 2nd loop and was ankle deep at the early beach part of the run.
May 18, 2022
Nice urban loop that I'd do again when in the area. Just a word of warning that you can't always follow the GPS route on this loop at high tide. I made this mistake and ended up tip toeing through a section of dangerous broken steps and board walk only to discover that track completely disappeared under water at this point (there were no warning signs that I could see anywhere either). So I had to back track and then go up which is when I saw a sign suggest a high route detour that I then took.
March 28, 2022