The New Zealand Walks for Wimps series provides essential information about short, relatively easy hikes around New Zealand. Today we hike up Castle Rock on the Coromandel Peninsula. Click on the map markers at the bottom of this post for more great easy NZ walks!
*Note: Since I first wrote this post, there have been some developments. A reader told me that someone died on this track in 2018, and thus it is officially closed. However, people still climb Castle Rock, despite signs announcing that it is closed and private property. Do so at your own risk! And be careful, please.
On my very first day in Coromandel Town the homeowners where I was to be house sitting pointed out Castle Rock to me. Towering above the surrounding hills, its lumpy surface does indeed look like a castle tower.
From another angle it’s a sleeping giant’s face, with a large forehead and big bulbous nose. It’s actually the core of an old volcano, and as soon as they told me that there’s a path going to the top, I knew I had to climb it.
To get there, go South from Coromandel town and turn up the 309 road, following it for about 5km. Just past the Waterworks look for a road on the left (I’m told there is now a sign announcing that the track is closed) and go up the steep-ish gravel track for just over 2km.
When you see the opening on the left (there used to be a rock arrow; apparently now it’s gone but there is a sign at the trailhead), you know you’re at the start of the track. Park your car and start walking, following the track markers all the way to the top. We somehow took a wrong turn and ended up whacking through some thick grasses on a barely-there track, but ended up in the right place anyway, so don’t worry too much.
The track winds up the side of the hill, and is pretty steep and a bit muddy in places. I took my walking pole, which I was glad to have for most of the way up, but when I got to the last few metres I left it there to pick up on the way back. On the way down I preferred to have my hands free to grab on to trees and rocks, so I strapped it to my backpack.
The last few metres are a scramble over rocks, but the view from the top is spectacular. You can see 360 degrees of green Coromandel hills, surrounded by ocean and islands. You can see right down to Opera Point and Matarangi on one side and down to Coromandel Harbour on the other side.
My friend and I went in the late afternoon and walking down to the backdrop of the setting sun was very beautiful.
Castle Rock is also a popular rock climbing spot, if you’re into that.
Have you climbed Castle Rock? Did you love it as much as I did?
Are you looking for another easy walk in this area? Waiau Falls and the Kauri Grove are stunning and very close by, and Opera Point isn’t much further!
Click on any map marker below to check out another easy New Zealand walk.
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special one
It really is! 🙂
We loved this hike! You can’t beat the views and we were the only ones up there – didn’t see another soul on the road in either. I do have to balk at your comment to use a bush as the toilet though. Please don’t. Wouldn’t it be better to say there aren’t any toilets, plan ahead!
Hi Diane, you’re right, one should plan ahead and it is preferable to not have people doing their business all over the place (and leaving tissue…). However, when you drink as much water as I do and there are no toilets provided, what is a person supposed to do? I will update the post to reflect your comments, because I do agree that we should not use the bush if possible.
Glad you enjoyed this hike as much as I did!
It’s a great little hike! Did it today. Sadly some things have changed since you first posted, Jenny. There was a death there in 2018 and the walk is now not officially open (though plenty of people still walk it). There is no longer a ‘Castle Rock’ sign at the gravel road turnoff from road 309; instead there is nearby a sign announcing that it is closed due to hazards and that it is private property. The gravel road might put some people off from driving it, though our Camry made it OK. Other walkers had parked at the bottom and walked the gravel road as well as the track. And the big arrow built of rocks at the trailhead has also gone. But there is a sign at the trailhead (around 335m ASL) announcing the Castle Rock track (and reminding you that it is private property).
Thank you for the update Gordon! I’ll update the post. It sounds like it might be a little less clear to find, although I’m sure with a bit of exploration people should be able to get there easily enough. Although perhaps I shouldn’t actually be recommending that people do a hike that’s officially closed.
I think it can still be recommended provided people are aware of potential hazards. The signs may be partly to avoid liability lawsuits? If people stop at the Waterworks shop just before the walk, they can get directions. The day we did the climb there was even someone hiking it for charity, every day for about a week.
Yeah that makes sense. The signs protect the owners of the property. People just need to be careful when they go there!
I’m local to Coromandel and I can tell you it most definitely is NOT okay for people to still be using this track!! And it’s really disgusting to hear you’ve used it as a toilet – this is land is sacred to the local iwi (tribe)!! It’s great that you enjoyed the walk when it was open, but as you’ve been made aware, this track is no longer open to the public. Please remove the details on how to access it as you’re actively encouraging people to break the law and disrespect the owners wishes as well as local customs. How would you like it if people were making themselves welcome in your backyard without your permission? And to clarify (as I have also read the comments section) the signs are not simply to “protect” the owners from lawsuits (this is NZ, we’re not a suing nation). The signs are there because the owners no longer want their land to be publically accessible – they want people to be kept safe, they are sick of people disrespecting it (leaving rubbish/using it as a toilet) and there are rahui (ritual prohibitions) in place. To anybody who thinks it’s okay to go on this walk and ignore the signs, tresspass on private property, disrespect the owners (a local iwi/tribe) wishes, and use it as a toilet, shame on you!! If you’re the kind of tourist who thinks it’s okay to come here and be so disrespectful, please stay away. A little bit cultural education would go a long way. So not okay!