Beach weekends
Sand under the paws and a dog-friendly bed for the night. These are our coastal routes for a two or three day escape with the dog.
The Catlins Coast
Every walk on this route sits on DOC or reserve land where dogs are welcome.
Bay of Islands & Kerikeri Coastal Escape
Dogs are welcome on every walk on this route, and Roland's Wood is the one place with room to properly run.
Auckland West: Black Sand & the Waitākere Fringe
Dogs are welcome at Muriwai year-round, but the south-end Otakamiro gannet colony with its clifftop tracks is strictly no-dogs, so keep well clear.
Coromandel Loop
Most Coromandel beaches, including Hot Water, Cooks, Shakespeare Cliff and the Whitianga sands, carry summer daytime dog restrictions (roughly Labour Weekend to 1 March), so plan beach time for early morning or the shoulder seasons and read the TCDC signs at every access.
Taranaki Coastal Walkway & Ōakura
Dogs are welcome the whole length of the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, which is a shared cycleway, so keep them close.
Wellington: South Coast, Makara & Harbour Bays
Much of Wellington's south coast (Owhiro Bay, Red Rocks) is open ground where a dog can properly run, but keep them close near the Sinclair Head fur-seal colony, where seals haul out year-round and peak May to October, so never let a dog approach them.
Nelson to Golden Bay
Dogs are banned outright on every track and beach inside Abel Tasman National Park, so Marahau is as close as they get, never cross the park boundary.
Marlborough Sounds & Vines
Dogs are welcome on the Sounds tracks on this route, though much of the wider Queen Charlotte area is kiwi and weka habitat, so check DOC signage, and some Sounds reserves need a dog permit or close to dogs outright.
Christchurch & Banks Peninsula: City Parks to Akaroa
Christchurch and Banks Peninsula both sit under the Christchurch City Council dog bylaw, and dogs are welcome across the parks and the Port Hills / Summit Road farm tracks, where stock and spring lambing are the things to mind, with fully-fenced romps at The Groynes…