Skip to main content Skip to page navigation
  1. Home
  2. Parks & Gardens
  3. Explore parks
  4. Coast and plains
  5. Bottle Lake
  7. Bottle Lake Blue Tracks

Bottle Lake Blue Tracks

Bottle Lake Forest Park is an exotic pine forest of approximately 800 hectares. It is a lovely place for a walk on a hot or windy day as the tracks are almost all entirely in the shade.

This information is about the walking tracks at Bottle Lake Forest. Find out about the mountain bike tracks.

Blue Track
  Blue Track
Start Bottle Lake Forest car park, Waitikiri Drive, Parklands
Finish Same as the starting point
Distance 10 km
Time 2 hours return
Toilets Located at the car park
Dogs Can be exercised off the leash throughout Bottle Lake Forest but must be under effective control e.g. not running at other people or mountain bikers. Take extra care at track junctions that are shared with MTB and logging trucks.
Description

A map can be obtained from the Bottle Lake Forest Information Centre or any council service centre. It is recommended that walkers carry one as it is easy to get disorientated in this forest.

The roads are organised alphabetically with Apple Road being the closest to the Bottle Lake headquarters and Zulu Road being the furthest away.

Blue Coastal Track
  Blue Coastal Track
Start 200m from Bottle Lake Forest car park
Finish Blue Track
Distance 4.2 km
Time 50 minutes
Toilets Located at the car park
Dogs Can be exercised off the leash throughout Bottle Lake Forest but must be under effective control e.g. not running at other people or mountain bikers. Take extra care at track junctions that are shared with MTB and logging trucks.
Description

This track diverges from the Blue Track almost immediately after leaving the car park. Walk out towards the coast and around the landfill site before rejoining the Blue Track after 4.7 km. 

Blue Hill Track
  Blue Hill Track
Start Signposted junction off the Blue Track
Finish Blue Track
Distance 3 km
Time 20 to 30 minutes
Toilets Located at car park
Dogs Can be exercised off the leash throughout Bottle Lake Forest but must be under effective control and not running at other walkers or mountain bikers. Take extra care at track junctions that are shared with MTB and logging trucks.
Description

These tracks wind up through the old landfill site and offer stunning views out to the ocean, Kaikouras and Maukatere-Mt Grey. Over 100,000 trees were planted in this area as part of the landfill's remediation. (external link)

Look out for the methane capture points around the hills. These convert the carbon dioxide and methane gas produced by the landfill waste into enough energy to power the entire Christchurch City Council Civic Offices. 

Get ready for this track using Plan My Walk(external link)(external link) by the NZ Mountain Safety Council. You can find track alerts, weather forecasts, trip reviews and a packing list, so you are set for your adventure.