Christchurch Parks & Reserves

Recreational facilities at Bottle Lake Forest Park, The Groynes and Bottle Lake Christchurch include mountain-bike tracks, horse-trekking trails and walking tracks.

Bottle Lake

The Bottle Lake Forest Park is located about 10 kilometres north east of central Christchurch, adjacent to the east coast and Pacific Ocean.

Bottle Lake Forest is a production forest, yet offers recreational facilities that include mountain-bike tracks, horse-trekking trails and walking tracks.

Developed from a farm in the early 1900’s the forest expanded from coastal protection plantings to its present size, and is planted with mostly pinus radiata covering over 800 hectares of coastal sand dunes.

The main entrance and car park for Bottle Lake Forest is from Waitikiri Drive, off Burwood Road, via either Marshlands or Burwood. There is also access from Spencer Park, and from North Shore along the Southern Pegasus Bay Track.

Halswell Quarry

The Halswell Quarry Park covers a total area of 55 hectares of land and can be accessed via Kennedy's Bush Road, off Halswell Road, approximately 10 kilometres from the city centre.

Once at the Halswell Quarry you will discover historic buildings from days of the quarrymen as well as a park with two short, easy walks, wetland ponds, a picnic area and grassy areas for families and dogs.

The two short walks at the Quarry are the Halswell Quarry Lake Track and the Halswell Quarry Rim Track.

The Halswell Quarry Lake Track is an easy loop along the floor of Halswell Quarry which takes approximately 10 minutes to walk, whereas the Halswell Quarry Lake Track loops around the Halswell Quarry and takes approximately 40 minute to walk. It offers fantastic views the Canterbury Plains, and the Southern Alps on a clear day.

The quarry itself ceased production in 1990. You can see the blue grey stone supplied from the quarry in the Canterbury Museum and for many other Christchurch buildings, such as Sunnyside Hospital, the Sign of the Takahe, and Durham Street Methodist Church.

The Groynes

A visit to The Groynes Park can make a wonderful family day outing, or a real chance to get outdoors, exercise and soak up some nature and fresh air!

The Groynes covers a total area of 93 hectares of land, and gets its name from large concrete structures built perpendicular to the river bank to push fast flowing water away from the bank edge, some of which are still visible from the Otukaikino Creek.

Otukaikino Creek was once the south branch of the Waimakariri River, and was separated from the main branch during major works in the 1930's.

The Groynes is well-known as a habitat for wildlife such as waterfowl and trout, and also offers a great opportunity for anglers. Swans, ducks and geese can also be found near the creeks.

The picnic area offers a large recreational area, coin-operated barbeques and watercraft is available for hire at the jetty.

The main track through The Groynes is the Waimairi Walkway which is approximately five kilometres return and takes approximately 1 1/4 hours to walk and can be walked from either direction, either starting at the end of Darroch Street in Belfast or beginning from The Groynes Park and passing through diary land and popular trees

The track offers the opportunity to see a you can see some of Christchurchs finest real estate. We recommend during winter months that you wear suitable footwear as we found the track to be quite boggy.

The Groynes Park can be accessed via Groynes Drive, off Johns Road (State Highway 1, Belfast, Christchurch). It is approximately seven kilometres from the city centre.