New Zealand’s dramatic landscapes have earned global fame through iconic trails like the Milford Track and Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Yet beyond these celebrated paths lies another New Zealand—equally magnificent but far less traveled—where hikers can experience the country’s legendary beauty without the crowds.
Here is a list of 20 remarkable hiking trails across New Zealand that deserve attention but have somehow remained under the radar of most travel brochures and international tourists.
Mount Somers Track in Canterbury
This two-day journey traverses a fascinating geological landscape featuring ancient volcanic formations, fossil-embedded limestone cliffs, and crystal-clear mountain streams. The trail winds through tussock highlands and subalpine forests before revealing expansive views across the Canterbury Plains to the distant Southern Alps.
Overnight options include well-maintained Department of Conservation (DOC) huts where trampers often have the rare luxury of space and solitude even during peak season.
Hump Ridge Track in Southland
This three-day loop combines coastal views with subalpine vistas across the southern edge of Fiordland National Park and out to Stewart Island. Historic viaducts from early logging operations create surreal elevated passages through ancient beech forests draped in hanging moss.
The private lodges along this community-run track offer unexpected comfort with hot showers and real beds, making this challenging hike accessible to those seeking wilderness without fully roughing it.
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Pouakai Circuit in Taranaki
Circling the perfectly conical Mount Taranaki, this track offers constantly changing perspectives of one of New Zealand’s most photogenic mountains without the crowds of the nearby one-day summit climb. The famous Pouakai Tarns create mirror reflections of the mountain on clear mornings. At the same time, expansive views stretch from mountain to sea across jungle-like forests that reflect the region’s unusually high rainfall.
The mountain’s moods change dramatically with weather and light, rewarding photographers willing to wait for perfect conditions.
Catlins Coastal Track in Southland
This rugged coastal route connects some of New Zealand’s most dramatic southern beaches with surprisingly few fellow hikers to share them with. Ancient petrified forests emerge from the sand during low tide, while rare yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions regularly appear along the shoreline.
The trail traverses farmland, native forest, and wild beaches, offering glimpses into the harsh conditions early European settlers faced in this remote corner of the country.
Te Paki Coastal Track in Northland
The northernmost trail in New Zealand traces the coastline where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean at Cape Reinga, a site of profound spiritual significance to Māori. Enormous sand dunes, hidden coves with perfect swimming holes, and windswept headlands create a constantly changing landscape over this three-day journey.
The route passes through land managed by local iwi (tribes), offering a deeper cultural understanding than most hiking experiences in New Zealand.
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Banks Peninsula Track in Canterbury
This private walking track crosses working farms and conservation land while circumnavigating ancient volcanic craters that now form spectacular harbors. Native forests are regenerating after years of farming and now provide habitat for rare birds, including the jewel-like bellbird, whose songs accompany hikers through sheltered valleys.
Accommodation in historic farm cottages and homesteads includes home-cooked meals featuring local ingredients, creating a distinctly New Zealand experience connecting land, food, and people.
Kaikoura Coast Track in Canterbury
This gentle three-day walk along private farmland offers continuous views of dramatic terrain where mountains nearly collide with the sea. The trail passes through working sheep stations where generations of farming families have shaped the landscape while adapting to its challenges.
Marine mammals, including dolphins, seals, and occasionally whales, can be spotted from clifftop vantage points, providing natural entertainment during rest breaks on this relatively gentle hiking route.
Whirinaki Forest Track in the Bay of Plenty
Often described as the finest example of podocarp rainforest remaining in New Zealand, Whirinaki enchants visitors with trees over 1,000 years old, creating cathedral-like spaces filled with birdsong. The crystal-clear Whirinaki River runs alongside sections of the trail, its turquoise waters offering refreshing swimming spots during summer months.
Native wildlife thrives in this ancient ecosystem, with kākā parrots and kererū pigeons frequently spotted among the forest giants.
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Hacket-Browning Loop in Nelson Lakes
This hidden gem in the northern South Island combines river valleys, alpine meadows, and panoramic ridge walking over three to four days of varied terrain. Historic mining relics appear unexpectedly along forest sections, telling stories of early European settlement and resource extraction in this mineral-rich region.
The trail receives a fraction of the visitors that flock to nearby Abel Tasman, creating opportunities for genuine solitude amid landscapes equally worthy of national park status.
Waiau Pass in Nelson Lakes
This challenging alpine route forms part of the longer Te Araroa Trail but deserves recognition as a standalone adventure for experienced hikers seeking true wilderness. The trail climbs through beech forest before emerging into tussock basins surrounded by jagged peaks reminiscent of the European Alps or the American Rockies.
The pass itself offers one of New Zealand’s most dramatic mountain passages, requiring scrambling skills, but rewarding hikers with panoramic views and profound wilderness immersion.
Inland Pack Track on the West Coast
Parallel to the popular Heaphy Track but receiving just a fraction of its traffic, this route follows historic gold miners’ trails through temperate rainforest dripping with constant moisture. The trail crosses and recrosses the Pororari River multiple times, creating enjoyable challenges during summer, but posing hazards after rain.
Limestone formations punctuate the dense green landscape, creating unusual microhabitats for specialized plant communities found nowhere else in New Zealand.
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Travers-Sabine Circuit in Nelson Lakes
This challenging week-long journey through the heart of Nelson Lakes National Park traverses multiple ecosystems from lakeshore beech forests to alpine tussock meadows. The Blue Lake holds scientifically verified status as the world’s clearest natural freshwater, its visibility extending to nearly 80 meters deep on calm days.
Mountain passes, suspension bridges, and well-placed mountain huts create a perfect balance of challenge and comfort for experienced hikers seeking an extended wilderness experience.
Dusky Track in Fiordland
Often described as New Zealand’s most difficult major hiking route, this remote trail comes with warnings rather than promotions from the Department of Conservation. Extended sections of deep mud, numerous unbridged stream crossings, and variable weather create genuine wilderness challenges rarely found on maintained tracks.
Those willing to embrace the difficulty discover landscapes of extraordinary beauty where human presence feels temporary against the ancient permanence of mountains shaped by glaciers and perpetual rainfall.
Motatapu Track in Otago
Connecting Wanaka and Arrowtown, this challenging four-day route traverses tussock-covered high country with expansive views across the Southern Alps. The trail crosses private high-country stations, revealing the unique relationship between farming and conservation in New Zealand’s alpine environments.
Steep climbs and descents reward hikers with ridge-top panoramas stretching from Lake Wanaka to the distant Mount Aspiring, with comfortable huts positioned to catch the golden light of both sunset and sunrise.
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Greenstone-Caples Track in Otago
This loop near Queenstown offers similar alpine scenery to the famous Routeburn Track but with significantly fewer hikers sharing the trails and huts. The route follows ancient Māori greenstone (pounamu) trading paths that connected the interior with the west coast through mountain valleys and passes.
Wildlife thrives in these less-traveled valleys, with native falcons soaring above and the distinctive call of kea parrots often accompanying hikers through higher sections.
Rees-Dart Track in Otago
Deep river valleys cut between snow-capped peaks on this challenging circuit that showcases classic Southern Alps landscapes without the infrastructure and crowds of nearby Great Walks. The optional side trip to Cascade Saddle offers one of New Zealand’s most spectacular mountain panoramas, with Mount Aspiring rising above glaciers flowing into verdant valleys.
Alpine flowers create seasonal displays across mountain meadows, while native beech forests provide shelter during the frequent weather changes characteristic of this dramatic landscape.
Te Whara Track in Northland
Following ancient paths used by Māori for centuries, this coastal route connects the historically significant Marsden Cross at Oihi Bay with Urquharts Bay near Whangarei. Stunning ocean vistas accompany nearly every step, and there are opportunities to spot marine life, including dolphins and orcas, from elevated vantage points.
The trail passes through regenerating coastal forest, where native birdsong has returned following intensive predator control by local conservation efforts.
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Tableland Circuit in Kahurangi
This less-visited corner of Kahurangi National Park contains unusual marble and limestone landscapes, creating distinctive flora assemblages found nowhere else in New Zealand. Crystal-clear streams emerge from underground cave systems before flowing through alpine meadows bright with wildflowers during summer months.
Historic mining sites and pack tracks reveal human efforts to extract resources from this remote region, creating an intriguing cultural layer atop the natural history of this geologically fascinating area.
Mt Arthur-Gordons Pyramid in Kahurangi
This challenging alpine traverse rewards fit hikers with continuous ridgeline views across the northern South Island from coast to coast on clear days. The weathered marble geology creates unusual landscape features, including natural arches, sinkholes, and fluted rock formations sculpted by millennia of rainfall.
Native alpine plants cluster in protective microsites among the exposed rock, demonstrating remarkable adaptations to survive harsh conditions at the edge of their environmental tolerance.
Rakiura Northwest Circuit on Stewart Island
New Zealand’s southernmost major hiking trail circles the remote northern coastline of Stewart Island, where pristine beaches often bear only the footprints of native wildlife. Dense podocarp forests meet the sea along stretches where kiwi birds sometimes forage openly during daylight hours, a behavior rarely seen on the mainland.
The trail’s remoteness and challenging muddy sections ensure that only committed hikers experience the profound wilderness character of New Zealand’s third-largest island.
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Hidden Gems Worth the Effort
These less-celebrated trails reveal aspects of New Zealand that mass tourism hasn’t fully discovered—where natural soundscapes remain intact and wildlife behaves naturally in the absence of constant human presence. The physical challenges these paths present serve as natural filters, ensuring those who complete them genuinely appreciate the remarkable landscapes they’ve earned through effort and preparation.
These trails tell deeper stories about New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage. For those willing to step beyond the glossy tourism publications, they offer something far more personal.
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