Ivon Wilson Park Loop
Te Anau · Southland · Loop
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: “Dogs on a leash only. Other pets on conservation land rules. (DOC, Visitor Centre to Ivon Wilson Recreation Reserve Walk page, whose own words for the reserve are that "it is a good park for walking your dog".)”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
Dogs are allowed here. Keep them on the lead, watch for ground-nesting birds and stock, and read the signs at the gate.
About Ivon Wilson Park Loop
Ivon Wilson Park Loop is a loop of 1.8 km, near Te Anau in Southland.
A gentle forest loop around Lake Henry in Ivon Wilson Park, the 35 hectare reserve across the road from the end of the Te Anau lakefront path. Daniel, who sent it in with Zola, calls it 2 to 2.5 km; our drawn lap of the lake measures about 1.8 km, and the park has several paths, so you can easily stretch it. The planting is a mix of native and exotic trees, toilets sit near the entrance, and Lake Henry is stocked with rainbow and brown trout as a children's fishery, with licences for children available at no charge from the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre. The rule is on a lead, and the paperwork behind it is honestly a little tangled: Southland District Council told us the park is not in its jurisdiction and is managed by DOC, while DOC's own page says it is managed by the council. What is not in dispute is the only published wording, on DOC's page for the walk from the visitor centre: dogs on a leash only, on a page that also plainly calls this a good park for walking your dog. The council's dog control team reads it the same way. If either organisation ever publishes an off lead rule we will update this page the same day. A one way mountain bike loop weaves through the same forest, so keep an ear out for bikes, and a short stretch of our line on the north side of the lake follows one of the park's unmapped paths. Punanga Manu o Te Anau, the bird sanctuary, is a short way southwest on the lakefront: DOC signs no dogs on the track past the wildlife centre, so keep the loop and the lake between you and the birds.
It sits at the easy end and gains roughly 32 m, and takes about 24 min to walk.
Dogs are allowed here, on the lead. This walk is on the map because Daniel & Zola suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
