Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest

Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest

Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest
4.5
About
If you love the outdoors this area is for you! Escape into the beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest, one of Rotorua’s most spectacular natural assets. Famous for its magnificent stands of towering Californian Coastal Redwoods it is just five minutes drive from the city centre. Here you can experience some of the finest walking and mountain bike trails in the world. Not to mention taking in superb panoramic views of Rotorua City, Lake and surrounding district. Entry to the forest, tracks and Gift Shop & Visitor Centre is FREE. There is lots of parking and toilet facilities available. Gates open at 5.30am and close late. Maps and information is available at the Redwoods I-Site and Visitor Centre. Don't forget to also check out the Redwoods Treewalk. This is available at the Redwoods and provides an alternative way to experience the Redwoods both during the day and at night. It is a paid attraction see their listing for more details.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Chris S
    49 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Don’t miss this on your itinerary
    Excellent fun. It had been raining heavy all day when we arrived late afternoon. We decided not to wait for the nighttime light option. Very well constructed and very informative. Staff really friendly and helpful.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 November 2023
  • Craig R
    New Hampshire62 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Incredible Experience!
    This is an awesome experience with Redwoods! One key recommendation is I would avoid paying for the tree walk. It is not that high and unfortunately a gimmick. If you have kids, this could be fun but otherwise would recommend just doing the free walk. The Redwood Memorial Grove Track is an easy 2km walk that immerses you in the Redwoods, which we found to be much more impressive from the ground. The redwoods and forest are breath-taking. You can easily do this activity in 1-2 hours and pair it with another experience in Rotorua.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 December 2023
  • LauraHu22x
    Auckland, New Zealand55 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful walk!
    The redwoods are beautiful, amazingly tall and majestic! We did the blue trail which is estimated to take an hour, we did it in about 45 minutes so I think the timing estimations for the trails are a little conservative. Beautiful walk through a beautiful forest.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 29 December 2023
  • frauminertravels
    Cedar Park, Texas36 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun Time at the Hanging Bridges Night Walk
    We did the night walk. Booking ahead online saved us from standing in a very long line. The hanging bridges, special lights throughout and informational signs were great. We had a fun time, but if we were to go back we'd do the daytime walk so we could see more of the forest.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 12 January 2024
  • Julia @Scrumptious Solent
    Southampton, United Kingdom4,389 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fabulous forest with clearly signposted walks
    We really enjoyed walking around this beautiful forest. We opted for the 1:5 hour quarry loop which was a bit steep in the mid section but was a lovely mixture of terrain. We enjoyed seeing the giant redwoods, tree ferns plus many other indigenous trees. It was great to see both local families and tourists out enjoying the paths and the sunshine. Nice little cafe on site for a range of savoury and sweet treats - plus plenty of toilets too! Free to enter - unless you want to do the tree top walk on walkways up in the trees. Free parking in site - all walks start at the visitor centre and are clearly signposted throughout the walk so no dangers of getting lost!
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 March 2024
  • HahnTravels
    Liverpool, Australia1,290 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing Trees
    Even if you don't have time to do some of the walks, trails etc, this is a great visit. Take a short walk, they are well marked and the trees are amazing. Sundown here was beautiful. Well worth a visit, nice visitor centre and plenty of parking.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 29 March 2024
  • Mouzouris
    Detroit, Michigan2,095 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    So relaxing
    Only 10min drive from the city. We did the shortest walk before we did the treewalk. Very relaxing. The redwoods are babies compared to the Muir Woods in San Francisco but still big enough and worth visiting especially if it’s your first time seeing them. Definitely recommend and it’s free.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 9 April 2024
  • Janka K
    Brno, Czech Republic8,722 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A cool park to walk through, and surely a unique place with and interesting history
    The woods with very original background story, and also the story of how the tree-walk was build. You can walk around the place for free and I saw a lot of people with dogs. Besides that, you can also go for the tree-walk here, which is paid. I would personally like to experience the night tree walk, even though I heard the place is very busy. The decoration hanging from the trees must be beautiful in the night. But I believe that you can also see the decoration form the ground. Just a heads-up, if you plan to park directly at the place or at connecting streets, when I was visiting the place, I saw some teenagers going from one car to another, trying to open car doors. Before I managed to record them or report them to any staff member, they had vanished. Be careful.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 30 April 2024
  • Craig T
    Invercargill, New Zealand4 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A must do experience
    Absolutely awesome experience and would definitely recommend. Very friendly and helpful staff. We did the walk day and night time and this was a great way to see both nature at is best and a fantastic light show.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 May 2024
  • Bayley
    Auckland Central, New Zealand15 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun tree walk
    We did the tree walk during the day. It was easy enough and fun. Sometimes it would rock and give me a fright but over all a great time. I would go again. There is a second lap that goes higher that includes stairs but the bottom one is pushchair friendly. I saw a man with a cane doing it as well.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 June 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles5,250 reviews
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3,711
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1,312
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195
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Tracey J
Christchurch, New Zealand60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020 • Couples
No matter how old you are this is such a cool experience for everyone to enjoy. Highly worth it. It's great how only so many people are allowed on the bridges and platforms at a time so you're not getting hold up. Friendly staff - make sure you purchase your tickets at the info center first before lining up to go in
Written 8 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

QueenofHerbs
Auckland, New Zealand50 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
We did the day and night combo. It's a one of a kind experience. They dont let you carry toddlers at any time during the walks so be sure that your wee one is rested and in a good mood to walk - specially at dusk.

We did the day time walk on a Friday and the night time on a Saturday night. Summer sunsets are late so we were worried our wee man will not make the night walk... - BUT HE DID... and we were so glad to do both walks as a family of 5.. Night walks get crowded very fast so come early. We started at around 8.45pm and then the que's were just a few metres but when we finished off they were spiralling to que.

Both amazing walks . A must do in Rotorua.
Written 18 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pete Y
Auckland, New Zealand771 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Family
We had our own bikes and the locals were very willing to recommend suitable family friendly tracks. We did 3 tracks, the dipper (twice), Turkish delight and challenger roadside. Recommend you start up high and work your way down. We started on the dipper then headed up to the Turkish delight, then the challenger and finished off with the dipper. We have 2 boys (12 and 9) both on hard tailed mountain bikes and they coped well. Great morning and awesome scenery, go here if in Rotorua. You can also hire bikes if needed.
Written 28 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

leah-barlow
Southampton, United Kingdom47 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2020 • Couples
This has the potential to be very romantic and gorgeous, but if you're unlucky to be near a group of loud idiots, it ruins the ambience somewhat. Highly recommend a camera with decent night mode like recent iPhones, put my other pictures to shame!

Different way to spend an evening, we disnt visit during the day. I site is open until 10pm when we went, so you want to time your arrival between 7-8:30 ideally, be prepared to queue to get on the course but then you can go at your own pace and not too crowded.
Written 13 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gaenors2015
Hamilton & Waikato Region, New Zealand70 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Couples
We had a 3 night break in Rotorua with another couple. We did the Redwood Tree Top walk in the early afternoon and lived it. We came back in the evening to do it at night and it was breathtakingly beautiful. An added bonus was the holograms
The lanterns and lighting was speculated
Well worth the visit. The bonus being you paid for the daytime walk and the night time one was free
Written 5 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SueDSurrey
New Malden Surrey97 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
What a fantastic sight...Redwoods towering above you, even as you do the treetop walk. Your ticket allows using over a 3 day period and the forest walks are free! A beautiful place. I would definitely recommend the tree walk late afternoon/early evening as it is just turning dark.
Written 8 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dan G
Sanson, New Zealand51 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Family
We weren’t looking to pay the exorbitant price for the treetop walk so opted to walk the free tracks around this beautiful forest. Even in pouring rain we loved it - very majestic and peaceful. Easy for kids and wheels. Plenty of tracks/ options to choose from. Plenty of parking in various locations dotted about the place. Will be back again to explore more!
Written 27 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SRDFrench
Leeds, UK65 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Couples
I went on the ‘night walk’ and it was absolutely magical! There were beautiful lanterns hanging between the trees and the forest ferns were lit up in different colours. It was a little bit crowded the evening I went but the staff managed it very well and there were moments when I felt it was just me on the platforms, with the dark forest all around and the lanterns glowing to the side. A wonderful experience!
Written 15 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dell
Hamilton, New Zealand206 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
The Redwoods is a magical place for a stroke, alone or with friends. The David Trubridge hanging installation/ lampshades are awesome and I imagine the night scene is fantastic, I’ve only visited during the day but the Redwoods nighttime tree walk comes heavily recommended. I’m told The Redwoods adrenaline walk ,whilst expensive is memorable and worth it if you like zip linning.
Written 11 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BeckyB
Torquay, UK61 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
You have two options when you visit the Redwoods you can pay to do the high walk around or you can do any of the other walks for free so there are things for everyone, I went and payed for the high ropes walk which is such an amazing experience if you haven’t done it, it’s a good way to learn about the history up high in the trees!
After we choose to do one of the walks (Blue track - 1 hour 30mins) but there are so many tracks you can do to suit your needs even bike tracks and horse tracks. The Redwoods is so magical it’s nice that you can just go for a walk take your dogs I really enjoyed my time there.
(Take water with you which ever track you do) there are water station to fill up your bottles at the beginning near the toilets :)
Written 10 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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