Napier City Loop

This ride on Hawke’s Bay Trails starts from Napier City. There are many places to park a vehicle by the trail. You pass Napier Port, Ahuriri’s cafés and bars, and head under bridges via the upper Ahuriri estuary to Taradale. This loop passes a few popular urban wineries, then swings back to the sea, along Marine Parade and past parks, gardens and numerous fun attractions for the kids.

The Napier i-SITE Visitor Centre is beside the Sound Shell, just off the trail and there are a number of bike hire companies in Napier: Bike About Tours Napier, Fishbike, Napier City Bike Hire or Takaro Trails. For your last minute bike repairs or spare tubes call into Fast Eddie's Cycle Repairs, near Ocean Spa. Activities to stop and indulge on the way include: the iconic Napier ‘cloud’ viewing platform, Magnet Café at the Port end of Marine Parade, Ahuriri shops, East Pier Hotel, Westshore Beach Inn, restaurants, café’s and pubs, Mission Estate and Church Road wineries, Taradale shopping centre, pump parks, the National Aquarium, playgrounds, junior bike park, skate park, ice-cream shops, coffee houses, the sunken garden and mini-golf beside Napier i-SITE.

It can be tricky getting off the trails in Taradale and using the road. We recommend staying on Church Road and following it to the end. Turn left into Puketapu Road and ride to the roundabout at Taradale shops – a great place to stop for refreshments. From McDonalds at the same roundabout head to Gloucester Street, past Avanti Plus Taradale and towards the Arena at ‘EIT’. At Pettigrew Green Arena bustop, look for signposts and head up to the stopbank – back onto our limesand trails.

If you can only do one ride here in Hawke’s Bay and have 2-4hrs spare this gives you a taste of our trails – city life, port and estuary, wetlands, river views, ocean side trails and of course a few excellent wineries. Recommended stops are: for a coffee Magnet Cafe, right on the beach on Marine Parade or if you enjoy wines is the Urban Winery, check out the famous 'Egg' and taste Tony Bish Wines, located in the historic National Tobacco Company Art Deco building, Ahuriri.

Local Tip

As you arrive back to the sea from Taradale, the trail stretches out beside the ocean back to Napier. For a quick detour, check out Waitangi Regional Park to see the stunning Star Compass, Ātea A Rangi.

Good to Know

• Phone coverage is good on this section of trail
• Around the city is our busiest section for all types of trail users – slow down, let others know you’re coming, smile, share and enjoy the trail
• Go slow and use care on underpass areas – bridge approaches and trail edges can be steep and uneven
• Avoid high tide at Ahuriri estuary – occasional tidal flooding.

Source: Hawke's Bay Trails