Bowenvale / Huntsbury LoopBeginner - Intermediate
Submitted by James Stewart
Urban fringe
Loop
Undulating, some big hills
Native bushOpen farmlandsOpen tussock/grasslandsOpen ridges/tops
Beginner - Intermediate
2:00 (Slow)
1:30 (Moderate)
1:00 (Fast)
-9.6%
+10.1%
A small section of the Huntsbury Walkway is closed for upgrade (sign says November 2022 to February 2023). You can get around with a short road detour, picking up the walkway steps again via Morven Tce.
Fastest Known Times (FKTs)
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Description
- Start anywhere along Centaurus Road or Bowenvale Ave.
- Head up Bowenvale Ave and onto the track that takes you up the valley.
- Continue on the trail marked 'summit road'. This heads right up the guys of the valley before switching back on itself after 3.5kms.
- You'll have stunning views across the City for the next 300m before switching back again for a 1000m grind up to the summit road.
- Take a minute to enjoy the views of Lyttelton Harbour, upload a selfie to the Wildthings Facebook page and jump on the Crater Rim train heading east
- You've now got 1500m of sweet single trail ahead of you. A mixture of tussock and two big groves of native bush.
- This will drop you out at the top of the Huntsbury Track/Bowenvale Reserve.
- Mt Vernon will be to your East - tack an ascent/loop on if you're feeling gutsy.
- Take the 4WD Huntsbury Track down through Bowenvale Reserve. 1500m of fast gravel gravel tracks. Watch out for cattle stops.
- You then get thrown onto Huntsbury Ave for 1300m of tarmac.
- Hang a left at the Community Centre for a walking track down to Centaurus Road (if you hit Millhill Lane you've gone too far)
- From there track west along Centaurus for a km and you'll be back on Bowenvale.
Trail Community
Features of interest
Volcanic valleys. Stunning views over Lyttelton harbour, Christchurch City, Pegasus Bay and the Southern Alps.
Make Up of Run
Moderate Single Track: 10%
Easy Single Track: 30%
Farm Road / 4WD Track: 40%
Sealed Road: 20%
Route Data
Reviews:
Overlapping Runs
The following trails overlap with this run to some degree. You may wish to combine them but please note that to qualify for FKTs on these runs you should record a separate Strava activity for each
The Bowenvale Elevator
Length: 11.20km
Rapaki Sugarloaf Return
Length: 15.00km
Sign Of The Takahe - Rapaki
Length: 13.00km
Port Hills Nearly Half Marathon
Length: 18.00km
VKV challenge
Length: 10.00km
Gondola Gallop
Length: 11.30km
Lava - H.ELL Loop
Length: 10.30km
Port Hills Spur Challenge!
Length: 18.50km
Vicki Vale
Length: 9.25km
The North Faces
Length: 24.80km
Photos:
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Access
Start anywhere along Bowenvale Ave - heaps of parking (less as you get closer to the valley)
6 km
13 minutes
Yes
No
-
Staying Safe
Moderate.
Make navigation of this route super-easy by using the Capra app on your phone. View on Capra .
Perfect throughout.
Lightweight fleece top, Seam-sealed waterproof jacket, Windproof jacket, Beanie/thermal headwear, Whistle, First aid kit, Extra food for emergencies, Cellphone, Map, Headtorch and spare batteries.
None.
Can get windy up on the tops of the Port Hills.
You'll be sheltered from any Southerly in the valley so check the forecast before you head off.MTB riders on Huntsbury Farm Track
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Sponsor this trail
See other runs nearby:
Godley Head loop
Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour
Halswell and Kennedys
Summit Walkway
The Bowenvale Elevator
The Gorsetrack Strikes Back
Rapaki Sugarloaf Return
Sign Of The Takahe - Rapaki
Port Hills Nearly Half Marathon
Horse Longitudes
Horse Latitudes
Sumner Half Heads
Whigs' Flying Fifty (WFF)
VKV challenge
Banks Peninsula Ultra Beer Run
Bottle Lake Blue Loop
Gebbies to Packhorse Romp
Hagley Figure of 8
Avon City Loops
Avon - Source to Surf
Okuti to Hilltop Amble
Gondola Gallop
Orton Bradley Loop
The ATH (Around The Harbour)
Lava - H.ELL Loop
Travis Wetland Loop
Punk Rock Assault On Windsor Castle
The Guv'nor & His Birds
The Crater Rim
Lava Lite
Takahe Half
North New Brighton Spit
Mt Pleasant Trig
God's Con - Rehab Road
Gang of Four
Dog Sniffing Rhythms - Harbour Crusin'
Trinity - Harbour Bruisin'
Gates Of The East
Hunting Out A Gorge-ous Loop
Lyttelton Dress Circle
A Diamond in the Rough
Port Hills Spur Challenge!
Up Hill Down Valley
The Coffee Run
Pour Some Sugarloaf On Me
Never Trust A Crocodile
Lyttelton Semi-Circle
Hagley Perimeter
Holliss Stairway to Heaven
Diamond, Herbert & Fitzgerald
Barnett Bunker Buster
The Pipeline of Pain
Mt Vernon Farm Track
Vicki Vale
Heathcote River Run - Opawa to Hoon Hay
Christchurch 360 Trail - Sugarloaf Hills Section
Little Learner Loop (Halswell Quarry)
Bird to Bird
Port Hills Protocol
Bodybag
O'Farrells For Shore
The Governator
Heathcote Meander
Spitting Distance
Montgomery Loop
Canterbury Agricultural Park Loop
2 Sugars, 2 Vernons & a Half Shot
Quail Island Looping
The Chairlift Choice
Tussock Hill Ridge
Mt Pleasant Elevator
McLeans Meander
Girdle the Groynes
Governator 2 - Judgement Day
Christchurch 360 Trail - Godley Cliffs Section
Westmorland Wetland Time Trial
Loopy in Siberia
The North Faces
Westmorland Hill Reps
360 Trail - Dunes Wetlands Section
Rocking Gibraltar
Dune Bugging
Hey Sisters!
Living Springs Loop
Springing Around Longhurst
Lady Isaac Loop
The Missing Link
Beer Bum Bluffs
Brooklands for the Birds.
Surf's Up!!!
Styx Pick Me Up
Orton Odyssey
Shoeing the Horse
Tauhinu-Korokio TKO
Double Top
Beginner's Adventure Park Loop
Boulder Dash
Clan of the Cave Runner
Taiora Track
Landfill Lark
Morgans Baa Baa Loop
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Horsing Around
Port Hills 8-Attack
Pinecone Pirate - Waitākiri/Bottle Lake Forest Park
Frogger
Takahe to Taylors
