Parking
Canaan Downs car park, at the end of Canaan Road; drive about 11 km on a narrow, winding unsealed road from SH60 at Tākaka Hill. The road can be icy in winter; large campervans and trailers are unsuitable.
Overview
About Canaan Loop Track
Why go
- Pasture, scrub and beech gullies give the circuit a varied feel.
- Granite creek crossings and Log City add memorable landmarks.
- A high saddle opens west across the downs toward Golden Bay.
Heads up
- At 15.6 km, the mapped loop is longer than the published 14 km figure.
- Farm-track forks make the lower return easy to miss.
- The narrow singletrack is shared with mountain bikes.
Canaan Loop Track is a long shared-use circuit from Canaan Downs car park, up to Wainui Saddle, around the western side of Mt Evans and back through beech forest. The connected route line measures 15.64 km (9.72 miles); published descriptions list 14 km, so plan for the longer mapped distance. Allow five to seven hours on foot. It is a moderate day walk; the advanced grade applies to mountain biking. If you want a shorter outing, the separate Gold Creek Loop is a 4.6 km circuit from the same car park.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapElevation737–904 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 Canaan Loop Track, 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.
Recorded for this trailhead
Canaan Downs0:00 / 0:37
“Up ahead is Canaan Downs, a small tent campground in a clearing of meadow, scattered rocks and old beech forest. It's a simple base for inland walks and mountain biking, with ten unpowered sites that need booking.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Abel Tasman Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Beach Bought by Thousands
- Why Fantails Follow You
- The Sweet Drops on Beech Trees
- The Missing Female Parrots
- 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 Canaan Loop Track
Climb to Wainui SaddleFollow Moa Park Track along the forest edge above Canaan Downs farmland.
Follow Moa Park Track along the forest edge above Canaan Downs farmland. Pages Saddle is about 1 km from the car park, where Rameka Track forks left. Stay on Moa Park for another 2 km through native bush to Wainui Saddle; the Canaan Loop branches from the junction here.
Below Mt EvansThe loop sidles beneath Mt Evans through open pasture and low scrub, then dips into forested…
The loop sidles beneath Mt Evans through open pasture and low scrub, then dips into forested stream gullies. Flat granite boulders pave some creek crossings. In places, the builders filled long-dead trunks with granite chip to make raised singletrack. At Log City, those old trunks stand out across the slope.
The high saddle and Gold CreekThe track climbs to its high saddle at 930 m, with a westward view across the downs toward…
The track climbs to its high saddle at 930 m, with a westward view across the downs toward Golden Bay’s inner ranges. It descends through Big Burn, climbs around a wooded hillock and drops back to Gold Creek. Gold Creek Loop joins on the right. The return follows lower tracks and a short road link before the final beech-forest sections back to the car park.
Find your way backFarm tracks branch in several places and can make the route hard to follow.
Farm tracks branch in several places and can make the route hard to follow. Watch for the orange markers and green poles; leave gates as you find them where the route crosses grazing land. The track is shared with mountain bikes. Dogs are not allowed. Wasps can be numerous in summer; if you’re allergic to stings, carry the medicine DOC recommends.
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.
