Muriwai Beach North
Muriwai · Auckland
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. Auckland Council’s own wording: “Auckland Council, Muriwai Regional Park, dogs panel, read 30 August 2026: off leash applies "from north of the surf tower", at "All times - under control". Everything on this walk is north of the tower. The council prohibits dogs at all times on "Muriwai beach south of the surf tower" and on "all park, beach and foreshore areas on the seaward side of Waitea Road", which covers the gannet colony, Otakamiro Point, Flat Rock and Maukatia (Maori Bay), and at the playground, tennis courts and pump track. The grassed and picnic areas, the Mitchelson Lookout Track and the rest of the Muriwai Beach Loop Track are on leash at all times. So the rule is simple on the ground: south of the tower the lead goes on, north of it your dog is loose”. 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 Muriwai Beach North
Muriwai Beach North covers 1.8 km, near Muriwai in Auckland.
The bit of Muriwai people actually bring a dog for. North of the surf tower the beach is off leash at all times, and it keeps going: Auckland Council describes the coast here as a windswept rugged coastline stretching 60km north to the Kaipara. We map the first 1.77 km, from the black sand a few hundred metres above the surf club up to the Ōkiritoto Stream mouth, which makes about 3.5 km if you walk back. Turn round whenever you like. Nothing changes for the next fifty kilometres. It is flat, wide open and loud. Hard packed sand near the water, soft and slow higher up, and the wind is almost always in it. The Ōkiritoto Stream at the far end cuts across the sand and shifts about, so some days you step over it and some days you get wet feet, which is as good a turnaround as any. Behind the dunes on your right is the Five Mile Strip and Woodhill Forest. Ahead of you is nothing much at all, which is the point. Dogs are off leash the whole way here, under control, all times. Two things to keep an eye on. Muriwai is a permitted beach driving beach, so vehicles do use the sand between the low and high water lines and a dog running loose needs to be a dog that comes back. And the surf is genuinely dangerous, big waves and strong rip currents, so this is a walking beach rather than a swimming one for a dog as much as for you. Park at the main Muriwai Beach car park by the surf club and walk north. Keep the lead on until you are past the surf tower, because south of it dogs are prohibited outright, then let them go. If you want the dunes and the lookout instead, that is the Muriwai Beach Loop Track, and it is on leash except for the beach section.
Expect easy, near-level going, and takes about 21 min to walk.
Dogs are welcome here. This walk is on the map because Margie & Mr Bernard suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
