Redwoods – Whakarewarewa Forest

Known to locals simply as ‘The Redwoods’, the 55,000ha Whakarewarewa Forest offers splendid walks.Thanks to the owners and managers of the privately owned forest, access to the trails is always free. Please help us look after this incredible taonga (treasure).The redwood grove in Rotorua was planted back in 1901 with the aim of using the timber for building purposes.These trees have grown faster than in their native homeland due to the richer, well-drained soil and higher rainfall in the area, reaching over 70 metres (230 ft) height only 100 years later.[The tallest redwood in the forest stands at 75 metres.Over 5600 hectares of forest awaits you to enjoy and explore at your leisure. If you love the outdoors and want to experience nature at its best this area is definitely for you!The trails weave through native ferns beneath soaring forest canopies of Redwood, Radiata, Douglas Fir, Eucalyptus and Larch trees.

You just can't go wrong coming here. Sure it gets a bit busy sometimes but walking among these giant trees and the cool fresh air is always worth it.They have various clearly marked tracks with different difficulty levels ranging from 30mins to 3.5hrs, from comfy family walk to some fairly steep walksCan also grab a nice coffee at the end or even do some of the awesome canopy walks

Great place for spending a few hours with family. You can choose to take the ground track for free, or tree top path if you pay. The bridges have plenty of of connection points and relatively high walls, therefore they feel safe even though they’re suspended bridges and wobbly. The parking lots inside are limited, but there’s a lot of parking spots along the road outside.

It was really such a nice walk in the redwoods forest that you will feel to remain there forever. We took 1 hr track which is blue one. You have the option to take three walk which we will plan in night time later but overall it was a wonderful break in Rotorua. Would love to visit again anytime.

Tranquil place to go for a walk and take in the fresh forest air between giant Californian redwoods. Plenty of walking tracks for different fitness levels that go as far as the lakes and a very popular mountainbiking location. There's also the tree walk that's open for day and night walks on suspension bridges above the forest and the adrenaline zip lining. The forest is often used as a wedding and events venue throughout the year. Coffee and snacks are available at the on-site Cafe and gift shop.

The redwoods are evasive but its still really cool to be surrounded by great redwoods and fern trees. There are a variety of hikes that can last 30 minutes to 5 hours and it can get a little muddy. Everything is well marked and there is a nice gift shop and cafe at the entrance. Plenty of parking.

Perhaps ignorance on our part however we were quite shocked to find out that the forest was actually non-native trees. Equally surprising is how fast these must grow to become the massive impressive glorious looking trees at the forest. We took the tree walk and later noticed that many others were also walking thru forest floor. We noticed all the signs stating not to touch the bark of the trees to avoid damaging it - I agree. However could not help noticing that were the walkway is connecting to the trees that the barks are getting compressed and are sorting to bulge below and above the connections and straps. I understand the commercial attractiveness of the tree walks versus walking on the forest floor.

Really beautiful forest with a lot of hikes. I one of the best areas in Rotura to enjoy a nice peaceful hike. My wife and I did a. 6km hike here are would highly recommend it.

We stopped here during the day to do the treetop walk and it did not disappoint! It was really incredible to see all the trees and read the history along the way. It was very well made and we never felt scared or unsafe. My dad is afraid of heights and he wasn’t afraid. Definitely a must do, even with young children. They provide buggies for the young children to enjoy the walk as well.