Richmond Trail
Lake Tekapo · 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. DOC’s own wording: “Dogs allowed. Keep dog under control at all times. Other pets on conservation land rules. (Department of Conservation, Richmond Trail page, Dog access panel.) Worth taking literally here: the trail crosses open tussock terrace with high country run either side, it is a shared track with mountain bikers coming through, and the first 3 km is the ski field's own access road”. 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 Richmond Trail
Richmond Trail covers 13.1 km, near Lake Tekapo in Canterbury.
A long terrace walk high above the eastern shore of Lake Tekapo, and on a clear day the view down the lake to the Two Thumb Range is the whole reason to come. DOC calls it 13 km one way, 4 to 5 hours on foot, and our line makes it 13.2 km, so the two agree closely. This is also a section of Te Araroa. Start at the formed carpark by the locked gate on the Roundhill Ski Area access road, off Lilybank Road out of Tekapo. There is a walkers and cyclists gate beside the vehicle one. From there it is 3.3 km of steady uphill on the ski field road before the Richmond Trail sign, which is the 3 km DOC tells you to watch for. Our line starts at that sign, because the approach is the ski field's own service road rather than the trail, so add those 3.3 km and about half an hour to everything below. From the sign the trail settles onto an old glacial terrace through tussock and patches of native bush and stays fairly level for a long stretch, then drops steeply above Boundary Stream to finish back on Lilybank Road. The catch is that it starts and finishes in different places, about 9 km apart by road, so you need two vehicles or someone willing to collect you. Riders do it clockwise from the same carpark and walk the steeper parts of the descent. Dogs are allowed and DOC asks you keep yours under control at all times. Two things make that more than a formality. It is a shared-use track, so bikes come down the terrace at speed and a dog wandering the line is the thing most likely to end badly, and the country either side is working high country rather than a fenced park. The first 3.3 km is the ski field's private access road with vehicles on it, so keep the dog close until you are past the sign. There is no water on the terrace once you leave the road, and the tussock offers no shade at all, so carry enough for both of you. NZTopo50 BY17 covers it.
Expect hard going, with around 32 m of climb, and takes about 2 hr 39 to walk.
Dogs are welcome here. This walk is on the map because Daniel & Zola suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.