Mangawhero Forest Walk and Rimu Track

The Mangawhero Forest Walk and Rimu Track begin opposite the DOC Visitor Centre at the bottom of the Ohakune Mountain Road. The fifteen minute Rimu track, meandering gently through an understorey of ground ferns and kamahi and crisscrossing a quiet mountain stream, is a separate loop off the main Mangawhero Forest Walk. The high quality surface of The Rimu is suitable for prams and wheelchairs. This walk takes around 15 minutes.

The Mangawhero Forest Walk begins by crossing the Mangawhero River from which it gains its name. Running over a bed of red tinged rocks, this river starts high up Mount Ruapehu and descends over two giant waterfalls, carving its way through the debris of previous eruptions. Following a faultline down the mountain the Mangawhero eventually joins the Whangaehu River.

From the river the track leads into a forest of kamahi, broadleaf and five finger, with giant rimu, matai and kahikatea trees reaching thirty metres or more above the forest floor.