Rakahuri Trail
Rangiora · Canterbury
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. Waimakariri District Council’s own wording: “Waimakariri District Council Dog Control Bylaw 2019 (with the 2023 Schedule Amendment), clause 7.1: “Dogs in public places, unless prohibited or required to be leashed as listed in the First Schedule, are to be kept under continuous and effective control at all times.” The First Schedule is the whole test, and the Rakahuri Trail is not in it. We read it rather than assuming: the only Ashley entries are Ashley Gorge Reserve, which is a different place well upstream, and the COASTAL AREA prohibition on the Ashley River/Rakahuri and Saltwater Creek estuarine areas, which is at the river mouth about twelve kilometres downstream of here and does not reach this section. So the bylaw's own default applies and the trail is off lead. What the bylaw asks for is defined at clause 4.12: “Under Control means that the dog is not causing a nuisance or danger and that the person in charge of the dog is able to obtain an immediate and desired response from the dog by use of a leash, voice commands, hand signals, whistles or other effective means.” Maddie sent this in as “dogs under effective control”, which is the bylaw's language almost word for word. Clause 7.2 adds one thing worth knowing on a shared trail: a dog that cannot be kept under effective voice control around horses must be put on a lead near one. The land is Environment Canterbury's, as part of the Ashley/Rakahuri Regional Park, and we have not been able to obtain ECan's own wording because their website blocks automated access, so if ECan signs a lead requirement on the ground, the sign wins over this page and we would like to hear about it”. 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 Rakahuri Trail
Rakahuri Trail is a moderate-length walk of 3.2 km, near Rangiora in Canterbury.
The Rakahuri Trail runs along the Ashley River/Rakahuri between Rangiora and the coast, on flat gravel and grass, with the braided riverbed on one side and farmland on the other. Maddie and Clay sent it in as a 13 km trail from Rangiora to Waikuku, and that is the trail as a whole. We have drawn the 3.3 km section around where she dropped her pin, just north of Rangiora, because that is the stretch we can map as one continuous line we are confident in. The trail carries on in both directions and the council's own descriptions of its full length vary quite a bit, so we would rather show you a piece we are sure of than print a number we cannot stand behind. It is an easy walk and a good one for a dog with energy to burn: no climbing, wide open sightlines, and the river to look at the whole way. It is a shared trail, built with cyclists in mind, so you will meet bikes, and occasionally horses. Dogs are off lead here, which is the district bylaw's default rather than a rule written for this trail, and the bylaw asks that you can call your dog back immediately by voice, whistle or hand. The thing we would ask you to take seriously is the birds. This reach of the Rakahuri is one of the more important braided river bird sites in Canterbury, and wrybill, black-fronted tern and banded dotterel nest directly on the bare shingle from about August through to February. Their nests are a scrape in the stones and are close to invisible, which means a dog running loose on the riverbed can do a lot of damage without anyone noticing. This is not a rule and nobody will stop you, but during those months the kind thing is to keep the dog on the trail itself and off the open shingle. Bring water. There is no shade to speak of along here and the gravel gets hot in a Canterbury nor'wester.
Expect easy going, with around 11 m of climb, and takes about 39 min to walk.
Dogs are welcome here. This walk is on the map because Maddie & Clay suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
