Careys Creek Track
Dunedin · Otago
This walk was suggested by the community and checked against the authority quoted above before it was published. The route line comes from official track data. DOC’s own wording: “Careys Creek Track: "Dogs allowed. Keep dog under control at all times. Other pets on conservation land rules."”. 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 Careys Creek Track
Careys Creek Track is a long walk of 9.4 km, near Dunedin in Otago.
An advanced tramping track that follows Careys Creek through the bush behind Blueskin Bay, 9.5 km one way and about 4 hours each way. Most people start at Evansdale Glen, cross the pedestrian bridge at the car park and head up the valley. The track crosses the creek many times and is muddy with exposed rock and roots, so tramping boots earn their keep and the crossings are worth a hard look after heavy rain. DOC's page for this track says dogs are allowed and must be kept under control at all times, and that covers the whole 9.5 km. We checked the ground underneath the line: every conservation parcel the track crosses is Careys Creek Conservation Area, a DOC stewardship area with public access recorded, so the dog rule does not change partway along. The one thing to watch is the first few hundred metres. DOC states the Evansdale Glen picnic area is a Dunedin City Council reserve where dogs must be on a lead, so clip on at the car park and let your dog range once you are on DOC ground past the stile. No part of this walk crosses into Silverpeaks Scenic Reserve. The nearest Silverpeaks parcel sits about 1.1 km away at the closest point, and the far end of the track is a public car park on Double Hill Road signed Careys Creek Conservation Area, not a boundary with permit country. Dog-legal ground runs the full length, road end to road end. The Silverpeaks link only appears if you take the Honeycomb and Rongomai side loop, which steps out onto a working logging road; the Silverpeaks Circuit Track car park is roughly 5 km further along Steep Hill Road behind a locked forestry gate. That is where the permit-only Silverpeaks Circuit begins, and it is a long way past anything on this track. Careys Creek is also a DOC hunting block, so you may share the valley with hunters. The permit language on DOC's hunting page is about hunting and hunting dogs, not about walking your own dog here. Logging trucks use Double Hill and Semple Road, so take care at that end, and DOC asks people to stay off the Black Gully Dam wall where the old Seacliff water pipeline still shows along the track. DOC allows dogs here off lead, with the one condition that you keep your dog under control at all times. It is an advanced tramping track rather than a stroll: from the Double Hill Road carpark it drops on steps through steep terrain into the gully, then crosses the creek numerous times on muddy ground with exposed rock and roots. Creek levels come up after rain, so pick your day, and remember DOC's condition is control, not a lead, which on a track this rough means a dog that comes back first time.
It sits at the hard end and gains roughly 380 m, and takes about 2 hr 31 to walk.
Dogs are welcome here. This walk is on the map because Petra & Bowzer suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
