Discover Tauranga District: Trails, Art and History

Tauranga District brings together trails through varied landscapes, Māori culture, art and historic places. When planning your trip, you can choose your focus: outdoor experiences, the history of Tauranga, or art and water activities. This helps you choose accommodation to suit the themes that interest you most.

Mauao: Landscape, Culture and an Important Visitor Notice

Mauao is the sacred tūpuna maunga of the iwi of Tauranga Moana, as well as the iwi of Te Arawa and Waitaha. The 232-metre summit, Te Tihi o Mauao, offers views over Te Awanui, the surrounding islands and the Pacific Ocean. At its base, the 3.4-kilometre Te Ara Tūtanga loop track winds through the natural surroundings. Five kōhatu whakairo, or stone carvings, depict traditional legends and ancient stories.

Important for your plans: As of 8 September 2026, Mauao is fully closed to the public until further notice. Major slips have made the area unsafe. Check the latest closure notice before visiting; do not plan to access the loop track or summit while the closure is in effect.

Mauao Adventures offers a Waka Ama canoeing experience in Pilot Bay. The company also offers a cultural walk on Mauao led by local Māori, which is inaccessible during the full public closure. The operator advises that access to Mauao may be temporarily closed. Confirm availability before booking.

Trails with Different Routes and Formats

The Marine Parade Coastal Pathway extends the existing Main Beach Boardwalk at Mount Maunganui. It is designed for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair and mobility aid users, skaters and scooter users. This distinguishes it from the longer trails in Tauranga District in terms of its intended use.

The Waikareao Estuary Walkway is a nine-kilometre loop for walking and cycling. The six-kilometre sealed section of the Kōpūrererua Valley Walkway runs between The Lakes and Waihi Road. These details describe different trail formats: a loop versus a clearly defined section. Kopurererua Valley Reserve covers about 258 hectares, including farmland, native bush and ponds.

The Pāpāmoa Walkway connects Pacific View Road and Wairakei Reserve with walking and cycling trails. When choosing a trail, it makes a difference whether you are looking for a loop, a sealed section or a connection between two named places.

Art and History in Tauranga

Toi Tauranga Art Gallery is the anchor of Tauranga’s Te Manawataki o Te Papa cultural precinct; it reopened in 2025. The City Art Walk Tauranga shares the stories behind the city’s extensive public art collection. The city centre is also home to Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga’s leading performing arts venue.

The Elms | Te Papa Tauranga is one of New Zealand’s oldest historic sites. The grounds include Category 1 heritage buildings and nationally significant collections. The Elms Mission Station is regarded as the founding settlement of European settlement in Tauranga. The wooden library and mission house at The Elms are also the oldest known surviving buildings in the Bay of Plenty region. Their national significance is linked to early contact between the Church Missionary Society and Māori in the region.

The Elms offers walk-in tours daily from 10 am to 3 pm. Check current opening times before your visit. Tauranga’s city centre is also notable for its historic attractions; you can combine your visit with the places and art offerings that appeal to you most.

Water Activities and Getting Around

Waimarino Adventure Park offers kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. The operation is seasonal; the operator describes a winter closure and seasonal reopening. Bear this distinction in mind if water activities are important to your trip, and confirm availability for your planned visit.

For public transport, Baybus provides a network map for Tauranga that includes Pāpāmoa and Te Puke. The Arataki bus hub is on Farm Street, behind Bayfair Shopping Centre in Tauranga. The map shows the extent of the network; it does not, on its own, provide information about service frequency or specific connections.

In the broader Bay Of Plenty travel destination, the Bay of Plenty region also offers lakes, geothermal landscapes, and remnants of gold mining and timber harvesting that may interest visitors. This broader regional perspective complements Tauranga’s local themes without replacing them.

If you are planning a family trip, you can choose accommodation based on your preferred focus: trails and outdoor activities, city history and art, or seasonal water activities. Discover more destinations: Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Omokoroa, Omanawa and Ohauiti.

Return to the broader travel overview: Bay Of Plenty.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Rotorua District, Western Bay of Plenty District, Kawerau District.