Big Hill Walkway
Arrowtown · Otago · Out & Back
This walk comes from licensed public walk data and is being progressively confirmed against the authorities. Signs on the day always win. The rule-setter’s own wording: “Dogs are welcome but must be kept under control at all times. That is the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust's current wording for the Mahu Whenua covenants this walkway crosses; the Trust is the walkway's controlling authority, appointed in the 2022 gazette notice that declared it”. Evidence: a hand-checked correction against the authority. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
Dogs are allowed here. Watch for ground-nesting birds and stock, and read the signs at the gate.
About Big Hill Walkway
Near Arrowtown in Otago, Big Hill Walkway runs 15.1 km as an out-and-back.
Big Hill sits inside the Mahu Whenua covenants, where the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, the walkway's controlling authority, welcomes dogs kept under control at all times. This is more route than formed track in its upper reaches, and Amanda and Henry, who put us onto the covenant wording, warn of rogue goats up here: keep your dog close and under control the whole way.
It sits at the hard end and gains roughly 725 m, pitching up to 30 % at its steepest, and takes about 5.5–6.5 hr to walk.
Walkers come for native forest, river frontage, big views, and wildflowers. Dogs are welcome here. Walkers rate it 4.5 / 5 across 71 reviews.
