Parking
There is no road access to either end. Reach Torrent Bay by water-taxi drop-off (it is not a pickup stop), then walk a few minutes to the village access. Bark Bay is a scheduled water-taxi stop; arrange your onward ride in advance.
Overview
About Torrent Bay to Bark Bay
Why go
- Ridgeline views over Frenchmans Bay
- A 47 m bridge and a changing tidal beach
Heads up
- A one-way walk with no road access needs boat planning
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapElevation5–134 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 Torrent Bay to Bark Bay, 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
- Abel Tasman Centre
- A Fern's Hidden Generation
- 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 Torrent Bay to Bark Bay
A one-way Coast Track walkTorrent Bay to Bark Bay is a 7.
Torrent Bay to Bark Bay is a 7.8 km point-to-point walk on the Abel Tasman Coast Track, taking about 2–3 hours. It starts at Torrent Bay Village and finishes by the golden sand of Bark Bay. A short climb, a ridgeline, coastal forest and the Falls River bridge make this a varied half-day section. The longer 8.4 km and 11.5 km distances you may see for Anchorage to Bark Bay start farther south and describe different route options.
The ridge and the coastFrom Torrent Bay, the path climbs briefly and follows an inland ridgeline, with views down over…
From Torrent Bay, the path climbs briefly and follows an inland ridgeline, with views down over Frenchmans Bay and neighboring coves. It then drops through native coastal bush to Falls River. The track is marked, but expect a few steep, rough or muddy stretches; this is an intermediate tramping track rather than a flat beach stroll.
Crossing Falls RiverThe route crosses the river inlet on a 47 m suspension bridge, then winds through forest before…
The route crosses the river inlet on a 47 m suspension bridge, then winds through forest before reaching Bark Bay. The bridge is the walk’s standout landmark: pause to look along the water, where bush grows close to the banks. If you want the beach as well, a short side track after the bridge leads down to Sandfly Bay; getting onto the sand involves rock-hopping, and Falls River’s mouth shifts along the beach with tides and storms. That spur is optional and is not included in the 7.8 km.
Finish at Bark BayBark Bay opens onto a sandy cove with a campsite and hut for people continuing the Coast Track.
Bark Bay opens onto a sandy cove with a campsite and hut for people continuing the Coast Track. Both ends of this walk are roadless. Torrent Bay is a water-taxi drop-off, not a pickup stop; the village access is a short walk from the landing. Bark Bay is a scheduled water-taxi stop, so arrange your onward ride before setting out. If you walk in from Anchorage, the Torrent Bay estuary crossing is tidal; use the low-tide crossing window or the longer all-tide route. That approach is outside this section’s stored route. Dogs are not allowed on the track.
Kākā back in the bushIntroduced predators devastated the park’s kākā population.
Introduced predators devastated the park’s kākā population. DOC and Project Janszoon released kākā back along the Abel Tasman coast in 2019, part of the restoration story behind these regenerating coastal forests.
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.
