Urumau Reserve Track
Lyttelton · 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. Christchurch City Council’s own wording: “Urumau Reserve Track ... Dogs: On Leash ... Shared use: No ... Status: Open. (Christchurch City Council walking track listing; the Dog Control Policy 2025 adds that dogs must be leashed on all paths in parks and greenspace areas where dogs are allowed.)”. 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 Urumau Reserve Track
Near Lyttelton in Canterbury, Urumau Reserve Track runs 1.4 km.
Climbs out of Lyttelton from the northern end of Foster Terrace and works its way up through Urumau Reserve to the Crater Rim Track junction on the ridge. Christchurch City Council calls it reasonably challenging with steep and rocky sections, and there is some scrambling in places, so it suits a fit dog rather than a first outing. The council times it at an hour one way going downhill from the top, which is the direction it describes the track in, so from town, climbing it, allow more. The lead stays on. CCC lists the reserve as dogs permitted on leash, and its Dog Control Policy 2025 leashes dogs on all paths in parks and greenspace areas in any case. Grazing stock is the reason given on every adjoining Port Hills reserve. It is worth knowing this is not a loop on its own. A loop means turning along the Crater Rim Walkway at the top and coming back down another way, such as the Bridle Path, and that ground is leashed too: Mt Cavendish Reserve and Greenwood Park are both mapped leash areas, for grazing stock and wildlife. Do not take the Cavendish Bluffs sidetrack off the Crater Rim, which is closed for serious rockfall danger. The track itself is a walking track and the council records it as not shared use, but the same reserve holds a separate mountain bike network on its own trails, and the lower part above Foster Terrace is where those trails and this one meet. Expect riders crossing and keep your dog in close through there. It is all council land, no permit and no booking. DOC land only comes into it if you carry on east past Evans Pass toward Godley Head, which is a different walk with its own rules.
It sits at the moderate end and gains roughly 244 m, and takes about 41 min to walk.
Dogs are allowed here, on the lead. This walk is on the map because Lisa & Ruby suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
