Rotorua Redwoods

Notes:

Creek, another of the beautiful lower mountain XC  trails that had me very thankful for packing the XC bike.

The best  way to access Creek is to ride out  from the Waipa Carpark via the  largely uneventful beginner trail Tahi.  Creek begins on the opposite side of the clearing.

Creek has 2 distinct sections, both in the trail  structure and forest.

The first section  contains some nice climbs over the hill before descending into a lush valley  which contains what I suspect is the “creek”.   The trail surface is smooth on the climbs with a few small rutted  sections on the descent.  There are some trickier  sections on the descent that may test beginners however nothing that should  stop you riding (or taking others on) Creek.

The second  section winds its way through a redwood grove.   This section is almost dead flat as the trail loops back on itself over  and over and over.  It’s a great place to  just enjoy the serenity (if you can block out the sound of the Mill) and take  in the majesty of the enormous redwood trees.   They were the largest trees I saw on the MTB trails (bigger ones at the  visitor centre).

Creek has a number of shortcut exits allowing you to  avoid large sections of the twisting track, however unless you’re racing to a  schedule I think it’s well worth while milking Creek for every available meter.   All exits appeared to come out on Nursery  Rd, the last exit bring you out directly across from the Piglet Track.

I rode Creek as part of a lower mountain loop  which included the Kids Loop, Tahi, Creek, Pig and Piglet, Grinder, Dipper, Tahi (the other  bit) and Rosebank.  Grinder and Rosebank are grade 3 trails so  alternate easier options are avoid Grinder by riding down Katore Rd then up Radio Hut Rd to Challenge (taking you to Dipper),  or even easier cutting out Pig and Piglet by riding Nursery Rd to Dipper.   Avoid Rosebank all together  unless you like technical climbs and descents.

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