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
Dogs are welcome on every trail on this route: the Queenstown and Arrowtown townships, the lakefront gardens, and Bob's Cove Scenic Reserve.
Wanaka Lakeside
Dogs are welcome on every track on this route: Mount Iron is a DOC scenic reserve, and the lakefront walks sit under Queenstown Lakes District Council's dog bylaw, which covers town, the Outlet and Glendhu Bay.
Karangahake Gorge
Dogs are welcome right across Karangahake: the Gorge Loop, the glow-worm rail tunnel and the Crown Track all sit on DOC-administered land that takes dogs, and the Waihi-to-Waikino rail trail is the stretch with room to run.
West Coast: Hokitika, Punakaiki & Charleston
Dogs are welcome nearly everywhere on this coast, Kumara's Londonderry Rock loop is the one place with room to properly run, and Cape Foulwind needs them held close near the fur-seal colony year-round.
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.
Central Otago: Rail Trail & Rivers
Dogs are welcome the length of this route, and the high-country and rail-trail sections give them room to properly run.