Parking
Medlands Beach is not road-accessible. Arrange a water-taxi or cruise landing and confirm the return boat in advance; walking in on the Coast Track adds substantial distance.
Overview
About Bark Bay Waterfall Trail
Why go
- A waterfall and suspension bridge make a clear payoff for an easy walk.
- Native forest, inlet and beach scenery fit into a short outing.
Heads up
- Medlands needs a boat landing or a longer Coast Track approach.
- The short beach link and its tide timing are not clearly mapped.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapElevation0–49 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to Bark Bay Waterfall Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Abel Tasman National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
More stories near here in the app
- Mārahau and Te Waharoa
- 23 audio storiesacross Abel Tasman’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, New Zealand Fur Seal, Little Penguin, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 43 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bark Bay Waterfall Trail
A short walk from MedlandsBark Bay Waterfall Trail is an easy out-and-back on the Abel Tasman Coast Track from Medlands…
Bark Bay Waterfall Trail is an easy out-and-back on the Abel Tasman Coast Track from Medlands Beach to the suspension bridge at Bark Bay Falls, then back to the landing. Allow about 4 km return and roughly an hour. The reward is a forest walk around the inlet and a close view of the waterfall from the bridge.
Around the inletThe track curves through native forest, with short sandy, compacted, rocky and timber sections.
The track curves through native forest, with short sandy, compacted, rocky and timber sections. Wilsons describes the outing continuing onto Bark Bay’s golden beach as well. Its public directions do not show exactly how that beach stop connects to the return route or whether the short variant depends on the tide, so check the route with DOC or your boat operator before setting out.
The falls and the right bridgeBark Bay Falls is a narrow cascade on Waterfall Creek, about 12 m high, viewed from a…
Bark Bay Falls is a narrow cascade on Waterfall Creek, about 12 m high, viewed from a suspension footbridge. The creek crossing is easy to mistake for the much longer Coast Track’s 47 m Falls River Suspension Bridge, which is farther south between Anchorage and Bark Bay. The bridge and waterfall frame well together from the inlet side; stay on the signed track rather than scrambling down to the rocks below.
Getting to MedlandsMedlands Beach has no road access.
Medlands Beach has no road access. For this short outing, arrange a water taxi or cruise landing there and confirm your return boat before leaving; walking in on the Coast Track makes the day much longer. DOC’s scheduled water taxis serve Medlands and should be booked in advance. Dogs are not allowed in Abel Tasman National Park. No food outlet was identified on the route, so bring what you need before boarding.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Abel Tasman
10 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
54 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
20 sightingsLittle PenguinMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
21 sightingsSouth Island KākāMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
526 sightingsWekaMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
16 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Abel Tasman. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
