Bring your trail dog along for a thrilling mountain bike ride in Nelson City. Make sure to join the Nelson MTB Club so you and your pup can enjoy these trails.
Koata Park is Nelson City's most accessible mountain bike park.
Park at Andrews Farm. From here, you can climb all the way to Firball Skid or P51 for some epic views. The trails are fast, flowy, and sometimes rocky, so make sure not to go too fast so your pup can tag along. Other good paw-friendly descents are Koata Whetū, Firball, IV Line, Hulk, and Hogan. In summer, these trails can be too dry for your pooch's paws.
Park by the Sunday Hole by the Matai River, bike along the river, climb Koata Whenua, and then all the way up to the start of Top Dog for more epic views. You can ride down Top Dog or Hotbox. You can also go along and ride Smasher, which finishes by a stream. Bike all the way back to the Sunday Hole if your pup needs to cool off. Sunday Hole is not dog-friendly from December until the end of March.
The Waitarake Trails are a beloved local spot, especially popular with mountain bikers and their trail dogs. These trails offer more of a challenge than Koata Park, with most rated as Grade 5s.
Park at the Waahi Taakaro Golf Club, where you'll find a bike wash and a brand-new pump track. From there, start your climb up the new track next to Mr. Chomper's exit. It's about a 25-minute climb to the top.
At the top, you can enjoy a thrilling descent down Mr Chomper or Loam Ranger for a short 4km ride. If you're up for more, keep climbing towards the start of Keyboard Warrior, where you can ride down that trail or tackle Matai Face (Grade 6).
Alternatively, you can do two laps via the new climbing trail and enjoy both Mr Chomper and Loam Ranger.
Park by the Sharlands Road entrance. From here, climb up Sharlands Road all the way to the start of Supplejack. This rocky trail is steep, so you won't be going too fast for your pup, and you'll encounter a couple of stream crossings along the way.
Alternatively, take the same gravel road and veer off towards Aorere. This trail was built for the EWS Asia Pacific Series back in 2020. The summit offers stunning views over Tasman Bay and follows a stepped ridgeline all the way down to the Maitai River. With a 5km Grade 6 descent, be sure to give your pup a few breaks along the way.
Gravity Shuttles offers casual weekend shuttles throughout the year and sometimes midweek, too. Keep an eye on their Instagram for updates. The shuttle departs from Andrews Farm and takes about 25 minutes to reach the top of Fringed Hill (or you can choose a Firball drop-off). From there, you have three epic descent options: Te Ara Koa, Butters, and FDH. Te Ara Koa is the easiest of them.
Te Ara Koa is a 5km hand-built grade 5 trail that descends over 700m from the summit of Fringed Hill, towering above the city. For a more challenging experience, try Butters, one of Nelson's most iconic Grade 6 trails, built in memory of Dr Bernard "Butters" Simmons.
Rest your pup along the way. Once you reach the bottom, it's a one-kilometre ride back to Andrews Farm via Brook Street. Remember to bring a leash for this section.
The perfect aprés-bike thing to do with your pup.
