Wellington · Hiking

The Rock Garden

0.8 mi
round trip
773 ft
climb
1,647 ft
high point
Out and back
route

The Rock Garden is an out-and-back trail, 0.8 miles each way (1.6 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand. It runs between about 1,140 ft and 1,650 ft above sea level, with roughly 130 ft of climbing one way. Most of the way is dirt. The nearest town is Paraparaumu, about 5.8 miles southeast of the trailhead. Peaks within about 3 miles include Deadwood, Maunganui and Titi. For camping, Ngatiawa River Monastery and Paekakariki Holiday Park are within about 6 miles. There are 2 other mapped trails within about 3 miles, so you can combine or extend the outing. Distances, elevations and the route shape here come from OpenStreetMap and the Copernicus 90 m elevation model. Trails, access rules and conditions change, so check locally before you go.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

QEII Park Coastal TrackPhoto: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)

QEII Park Coastal Track

~10 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 0.3 miles each way (0.6 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

Paekakariki EscarpmentPhoto: DB Thats-Me, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Paekakariki Escarpment

~11 min drive

A 6.4-mile point-to-point route in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Kapakapanui Track

~9 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 6.6 miles each way (13 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

QEII Park Coastal TrackPhoto: Jeff Hitchcock, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

QEII Park Coastal Track

~10 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 0.9 miles each way (1.9 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Kohekohe Walk

~12 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 0.5 miles each way (1.1 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

Wharemauku Stream PathwayPhoto: IdiotSavant, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Wharemauku Stream Pathway

~10 min drive

A 1.5-mile point-to-point route in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Ridge Track

~14 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 4.1 miles each way (8.3 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Devil's Staircase

Next door

An out-and-back trail, 1.1 miles each way (2.1 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Titi Road

~2 min drive

An out-and-back trail, 1.3 miles each way (2.6 miles round trip) in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Carex Valley Track

~6 min drive

A 1.1-mile point-to-point route in Wellington, New Zealand.

Conditions and forecast

Daily highs and lows, wind and the chance of precipitation at The Rock Garden for the next 7 days, from the Open-Meteo model.

Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors