DOC track

Karangahake Windows Walk

1.3km1 hrEasiest

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Forecast point: Karangahake Gorge (40m) · 0.1km away

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Notice

Check the DOC website for current alerts and conditions before you go. This site gets current alert info from DOC, but is not an official source of information.

This short walk boasts beautiful scenery and spectacular mining remnants including disused gold mining tunnels - kids will love it!

Elevation

Climb
66m
Drop
82m
Highest point
64m
Lowest point
31m
40m50m60m00.5km1km
Move over the chart to read the height.
Scrub
Longest open stretch
1.3km

Cover mapped summer 2023/24.

Description

From the Karangahake Reserve car park begin by crossing both the suspension bridge over the Ohinemuri River, and then the Lower Waitawheta Gorge bridge. Go up the stairs and through the abandoned buildings and machinery of the Talisman battery.

Then follow the rail track along the gorge and into the old gold mining tunnels. The tunnel has four openings (windows) which look down on the spectacular river gorge far below. The track emerges from the cliff and descends a staircase before crossing the river on a suspension bridge and returning on the opposite side of the gorge along the Crown Tramway Track to the car park.

Getting there

The Karangahake Gorge is on SH2 between Waihi and Paeroa, at the southern limits of the Coromandel Peninsula.

Know before you go

A torch is recommended for the gold mining tunnels.

The lower part of the Crown Track between the Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway and the top suspension bridge will regularly be closed when heavy rainfall is forecast. This is to ensure public safety, which could be affected by weather-induced slips, rock fall and rapidly rising streams and rivers.
Dickey Flat Campsite is still accessible via the Windows Walk when the lower Crown Track is closed.

Weather

Forecast at the start of the track