Alpine and gold country
High-country air and old goldmining trails. We threaded these routes through the mountains and the schist, with a dog-legal walk the whole way.
Queenstown & Arrowtown
Every trail on this route is on-lead: Queenstown Lakes District bylaws require dogs leashed through the Queenstown and Arrowtown townships, the lakefront gardens, and Bob's Cove Scenic Reserve. Twelve Mile Delta is a DOC campsite where dogs are allowed under control, but carry water - the lakeside tracks have little shade and get hot in summer. The real seasonal hazard is poison: 1080 and rabbit-control (Pindone) operations run across the Wakatipu basin and Arrow catchment, so check DOC and QLDC alerts before you go, and keep the dog close at the Arrow River crossings, which run cold and swift after rain.
Wanaka Lakeside
Every track on this route is on-lead: Mount Iron is a DOC scenic reserve and the lakefront walks fall under Queenstown Lakes District Council's dog bylaw, so keep the lead on through town, along the Outlet and around Glendhu Bay. Both holiday parks (Wānaka TOP 10 and Glendhu Bay) take dogs by prior arrangement only - book and confirm before you arrive, and dog-friendly spots like Kai Whakapai seat dogs in the outdoor courtyard, not inside. Before any lake swim check the Otago Regional Council / LAWA toxic-algae warnings, as cyanobacteria blooms hit the slow water near the Outlet in summer; carry water for the shadeless Mount Iron climb and watch DOC alerts for seasonal predator-control (1080) operations in the reserves.
Karangahake Gorge
Almost all of Karangahake is on-lead: the Gorge Loop, the glow-worm rail tunnel and the Crown Track all sit on DOC-administered land where dogs must be leashed - only the Waihi-to-Waikino rail trail allows off-lead under close control. The kilometre-long tunnels are pitch dark with uneven footing and open mine shafts just off the track, so keep the dog tight to you and carry a torch, and watch the fast, cold Ohinemuri River at the swing bridges. Crucially, the Karangahake and wider Kaimai area gets periodic 1080 and ground-bait pest-control operations - check the DOC website for active poison warnings before you go, as the bait is fatal to dogs. Tracks are open year-round with no seasonal dog closure.
West Coast: Hokitika, Punakaiki & Charleston
This coast is on-lead almost everywhere, Kumara's Londonderry Rock loop is the one legal off-lead run, and Cape Foulwind demands a short lead near the fur-seal colony year-round. Steer clear of Paparoa National Park entirely: the Pancake Rocks, Truman and Punakaiki Cavern tracks are all no-dogs, so experience Punakaiki from the cafe courtyard and the beach camp only. West Coast bush and beaches regularly get 1080 and pindone poison drops plus washed-up dead wildlife, check DOC alerts before every track and keep your dog off any carrion.
Mackenzie & the Aoraki Fringe
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is entirely closed to dogs, do not drive the dog up SH80 to Hooker Valley, Mueller or Kea Point. Elsewhere dogs stay on-lead: the Alps 2 Ocean sections are shared cycle trails, and Sept–Feb the Twizel and Pukaki braided riverbeds hold nesting kakī (black stilt) and banded dotterel, so keep out of the gravel. The Ahuriri Valley allows dogs off-lead under effective control, but it's active 1080 and trapping country, check DOC alerts before you go, and watch lake edges for toxic algae in warm, low-flow summer.
Central Otago: Rail Trail & Rivers
Central Otago mixes off-lead high-country and rail-trail sections with on-lead town and lakefront zones, so read each trailhead sign and keep dogs leashed past farm stock and through lambing (roughly August to October), when some farmland tracks close. The Clutha and Kawarau run fast, cold and deep; keep dogs out of the main current and use lake edges and side-stream shallows for swims instead. This is rabbit-poison country: pindone and 1080 baits turn up on high-country and DOC land like the Old Man Range, so check for warning signs and consider muzzling on back-country tracks.