Bike the Wanaka and Hawea Trails
Overview
4 hours
Mobile ticket
A brilliant way to explore the area and see the beauty all around. You will ride across plateaus, surrounded by mountains on relatively easy grade 1-2 family friendly trails.
The recommended route follows trails all the way from Hawea, alongside the Hawea river, through Albert Town and then follows the Clutha river to Wanaka.
On your way there are lots of interesting places to visit including Lake Hawea, Pembroke Patisserie, Wanaka, the Wanaka Tree and the Edgewater Hotel garden bar.
Additional Info
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Safety Briefing
Executive Return Shuttle
8L Topeak Rear Trunk Bag (replaces need for a rucksack)
Bike Lock, Puncture Repair Kit and Pump
Helmet - Specialized Camber Helmets with MIPs protection
Hire of bike - e-bike or regular bike
Rider Insurance
What To Expect
nzbiketrails luxury shuttle will pick you up from Wanaka and transport you to Hawea. We will provide an overview of the route, safety briefing and a test ride to ensure that your bike is comfortable for you with the right seat height. You will then have the rest of the day to explore the local area on your bike and make stops on the way back to Wanaka. Our favourite stop is the patisserie in Albert Town – an award-winning bakery. On arrival in Wanaka nzbiketrails will then pick up your bikes at the original pickup location by 4pm. Our e-bikes are suitable for Children 8 years+ who are over 140cm and are confident riders capable of using gears on a bike. We recommend young families book either the 0900hrs or 1030hrs shuttles allowing plenty of time to ride back to Wanaka.
Options
Gravel Bike Hire and Shuttle
Gravel Bike: For experienced Gravel riders only. Gravel bikes are a specialist bike. nzbiketrails recommends e-bikes on all of our trails.
E-bike Hire and Shuttle
E-bike Hire
Regular Bike Hire and Shuttle
Regular Bike Hire
Reviews
315 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A great way to spend a...
Aya H,
Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00A great way to spend a day in Wanaka. Solid bikes, friendly operators, all the guidance you need, and plenty of paths to go exploring on.
Good route, good setup
janwJ9795YE,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The route was beautiful, mostly off-road with just a few crossings. We are frequent road- cyclists . We chose the regular hard-tail bikes (not-e), they worked fine. Getting dropped off out of town and having the rest of the day to get back on our own was perfect. This was fun even for roadies like us.
Riding bikes in Wanaka
636kasiat,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I had the best time riding the Hawea to Wanaka trail. Gorgeous views the whole way and really good e-bikes. Staff were lovely and made everything easy. Definitely recommend highlight of our trip!
An Unforgettable Wanaka Cycling Experience
josiahy801,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It was a lovely experience with a thorough and reassuring briefing and drive-by walkthroughs at the start of the experience before we did any actual cycling. The route was straightforward, safe and incredibly scenic and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. We appreciated that the equipment and cycling gear was fairly well maintained and clean, and that the guide gave us recommendations for our lunch stops along the way. We also appreciated the ease of ending the activity; just lock our bikes at a parking station at Wanaka and we were free to proceed with the rest of our day!
Unforgettable experience!
G8327KSmatthewh,
Oct 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing experience! Our tour guide James was friendly, relaxed and gave us great insights of the local area! We had a great time riding the tracks from Lake Hawea to Wānaka. Highly recommend! Thank you!!
Must do activity!
1avnij,
Oct 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We chose nzbiketrails for the stunning Lake Hawea to Wanaka trail, and it instantly became one of the best experiences of our trip to New Zealand. We opted for e-bikes, which we highly recommend, as they made the beautiful but long journey feel smooth and effortless—pure enjoyment, no exhaustion! The team at nzbiketrails set us up perfectly. The trail was explained and described so well, complete with an excellent map, that we had zero navigation issues and felt completely comfortable throughout the entire ride. The trail itself is absolutely surreal and beautiful. We got lucky with a sunny, cool day that showcased the landscape perfectly. Cycling alongside the river was particularly scenic; the views were so magnificent that we literally couldn't stop stopping! We took the entire day to cycle back because we just had to pause multiple times to admire the sheer beauty. If you are looking for an easy, accessible adventure with non-stop spectacular scenery, this is it. Thank you, nzbiketrails, for a truly unforgettable day!
Thrilling e-bike ride in Hawea and Wanaka trails
990chetans,
Oct 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent curation of this e-bike ride, including the drop off to Lake Hawea, the quality of e-bikes provided, the clear instructions on how to take the trail back, including the suggestion to stop by in Albert Town. Full marks to the organising team. The ride on the dirt track was mildly challenging for our age, which enhanced the fun, though the bikes were super sturdy, steady and powerful for the 30 km ride. So many stops on the route for taking in the scenery and some wonderful pictures for memory. The break in Albert Town was totally required to hydrate ourselves and to power on with the remaining journey. Superb track and we were lucky to do it in cool pleasent weather of October. Totally worth it and recommended for people who are visiting Wanaka.
Hawea and Wānaka ride
Resort509771,
Oct 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Tristan picked us up for our bike ride on time. He was very friendly and informative of our day ahead. The e-bikes were great and easy to use. We enjoyed our day . Would highly recommend.
Brilliant !!!
Sam S,
Oct 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great quality bikes. Comfortable saddles. Good guidance on the way to the drop off! Highly recommend - very easy biking with the e bikes
Excellent experience
Ruth W,
Oct 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I had an absolute blast today! We were given a lot of info on the ride out and though it did seem like a lot, our driver was right and it was all really quite simple to follow. Ive never ridden an ebike before and it did feel a bit like cheating so I mainly just took advantage of the boosts for the uphill bits. Stunning scenery, lovely track and oh, to ride a bike with proper suspension, delightful! Ive had a grin on my face all day, would definitely recommend
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