Tuatara Trail RunBeginner - Intermediate

Description

Loop is best run Clockwise, head north along Alexander st and turn right onto Chapel St after 400m. Head straight up Chapel st and through the footpath to Mount st. Head 20m down Mount st to the start of the King Park Walking track, from here it is a steep climb up 200m passing a couple of lookouts over Greymouth.
Once you reach a sign saying return via same route head past the sign (obvious trail) and you will find orange and white markers. You are now on the Tuatara trail which is maintained by the West Coast Alpine Club.
Follow markers through the dense native bush until reaching a service road approximately 20-30mins later- be careful when following markers ,there is plenty and if you lose sight of them you have gone the wrong way.
When hitting the Power Line service road either head left for 50m for some views or go bombing down the muddy rocky slip 'n' slide of a track for a couple of km before out of the blue pops some gravel road. From here its another 1km downhill past the Substation before you're back to where you started.
You have now completed the Tuatara Trail which doubles as a race held by the W.C.A.C each November.

Features of interest

Brilliant views from Multiple Lookouts along the trail.
Best parts about this run are accessibility from town (no transport required), decent vertical for those wanting to grow some mountain legs and a feeling of a real West Coast run up through the naturally formed technical trail.
Downside would only be for those wanting a run, there's probably as much walking as running in this one. Oh, and for those not wanting to get their new inov8s dirty ...better look elsewhere .

Make Up of Run

Technical Single Track: 50%

Farm Road / 4WD Track: 35%

Gravel Road: 10%

Sealed Road: 5%

Route Data