Lake Rotomanu Loop
New Plymouth · Taranaki · 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. New Plymouth District Council’s own wording: “All public places not described elsewhere in this schedule: Off leash and under control. (New Plymouth District Council, Dog Control Bylaw 2022, Schedule 1: Area Rules, the district-wide line. Checked against NPDC's own dog control GIS layer, the lake circuit falls outside every restricted polygon, so the district default is what applies.) Three carve-outs sit right beside the walk and are in the same schedule. "Lake Rotomanu: Prohibited. The island in the middle of Lake Rotomanu." "Peringa Park/Lake Rotomanu wetlands area: Leashed control. Within the boundaries of the fenced wetland area located on the western side of Lake Rotomanu, the walkway linking with Weka Street." The circuit passes within about 11 m of that wetland fence without entering it. The Coastal Walkway, which this loop connects to at the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge end, is separately leashed control as a formed walkway area, so the lead goes back on when you leave the lake”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. 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 Lake Rotomanu Loop
Lake Rotomanu Loop covers 1.5 km, near New Plymouth in Taranaki, walked as a loop.
Inge sent this one in with Pip and described the shape of it exactly: park at the camping area on Clemow Road or further along at the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, walk the lake, and pick up the coastal walkways from there. Lake Rotomanu sits in behind Fitzroy Beach with the Waiwhakaiho River on one side, and the circuit round it is 1.56 km on the flat, which is a comfortable half hour and an easy one on old legs. The going changes as you round it. The southern and western side is the sealed access road that serves the camping area and the carparks, wide and pram friendly. The northern and eastern side is the good bit: a string of grass, gravel and dirt paths that stay within 10 to 20 m of the water for most of their length, with the swimming end of the lake below you and Taranaki Maunga behind it on a clear morning. Nothing on the loop climbs more than a few metres. This is one of the rare New Zealand walks where a dog can legally be off lead by default rather than by exception. New Plymouth's Dog Control Bylaw runs the opposite way to most councils: Schedule 1 begins by declaring every public place that is not listed elsewhere to be off leash and under control, and the lake circuit is not listed elsewhere. We checked that against the council's own mapping layer rather than taking the wording on trust, and the route sits outside every restricted polygon NPDC has drawn here. The things that ARE listed are worth knowing, because two of them are close enough to touch. The island in the middle of the lake is a dog prohibited area outright. The fenced wetland on the western side, and the walkway that links through to Weka Street, are leashed control, and the loop runs about 11 m from that fence at its nearest, so the fence is the boundary and there is no guesswork in it. And the moment you carry on to the Coastal Walkway at the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, you are on a formed walkway area and the lead goes back on. Off lead round the lake, on lead the instant you leave it.
It sits at the easy end and barely climbs, and takes about 18 min to walk.
Dogs are welcome here. This walk is on the map because Inge & Pip suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
