Take the Scenic Route. Auckland Road Trips Worth the Drive
Four day trips within an hour of Auckland, what is actually open, which tracks are closed, and when to leave so the motorway does not eat your day.
Auckland does not really feel like a city you can escape until you have done it once. Then you realise the black sand coast is an hour west, the wine is half an hour northwest, and 14,000 hectares of native bush sits an hour southeast down State Highway 1.
These are four day trips rather than weekends. Out after breakfast, home for dinner, no packing. All of them need a car, because none of them are on a useful bus route, and two of them have something closed that nobody tells you about until you are standing at the sign.
Piha, about an hour west
The one everybody knows, and the one with the biggest catch. Black sand, heavy surf, and Lion Rock sitting in the middle of the beach doing all the work in every photograph ever taken there.
You cannot climb Lion Rock, whatever you have read. Auckland Council has the track closed as unsafe and unstable, pending a geotechnical assessment, and it is a registered archaeological site on top of that, which limits what can be done to it. Plenty of travel pages still tell you to go up for the view. Take the photograph from the sand instead. The Tasman Lookout track at the south end is closed too, after three significant slips.
The walk that is open is Kitekite Falls, back off the beach through the bush to a proper waterfall, and it is the better outing anyway. It can close temporarily after heavy rain, so it is worth a look at the council's track page the morning you go rather than the week before.
The surf at Piha is genuinely dangerous. Swim between the flags when the lifeguards are out and nowhere else. If Piha is busy, Karekare is the next bay south and considerably quieter, and we have written that one up with its parking problem, which is real and worth knowing before you drive out.
Kumeu, about half an hour northwest
The shortest drive on this list and the one people forget exists. Twenty five kilometres out of the city and a serious wine district since Croatian families planted it in the 1940s. Kumeu River, Cooper's Creek and Soljans are all out there, and chardonnay is what the area is actually known for rather than the sauvignon blanc everyone assumes.
Half an hour each way makes it the easiest afternoon here, and it is the one where deciding who is driving before you leave the house is not optional. Nobody has ever settled that question well at a cellar door.
Matakana, about an hour north
Go on a Saturday or do not bother. The Matakana Village Farmers Market runs every Saturday from eight until one at 2 Matakana Valley Road, in any weather, and it is the whole reason to make the drive. Arrive at half past twelve and you are shopping in a car park while people load their boots around you.
Matakana has its own small wine region as well, boutique rather than industrial, and the coast sits just beyond it. It is the one on this list that most easily turns into an overnight if the weather is behaving.
The Hunua Ranges, about an hour southeast
The least visited of the four, which is most of the appeal. The Hunua Ranges sit off State Highway 1 southeast of the city, 14,000 hectares of native bush with the falls a short walk from the car park. Everybody goes west out of Auckland. Almost nobody comes here.
Two things to know before you go. Auckland Council does not recommend swimming at the falls, whatever the weather is doing and whoever else is in there. And large sections of the ranges are closed to protect the kauri from dieback, so check which tracks are open rather than turning up with a plan. There are cleaning stations at the trailheads and using them is the entire reason there is still forest to walk through.
When should you leave?
Earlier than you think, and home either side of the evening. Auckland traffic is what turns a good day out into a long one, and a drive that takes an hour at ten in the morning is a different drive entirely at half past four. Leave mid morning, and if the timing goes against you, wait it out somewhere pleasant rather than sitting in it. Our favourite Auckland food stops exist for precisely that situation.
Want to go further?
Everything above is home by dinner. If you have a night or two, the weekend trips from Auckland cover the Coromandel, Raglan and the Kauri Coast, including the tide window at Hot Water Beach and the gate on the Tane Mahuta track that catches people out after three hours of driving.
Getting the car sorted
You collect from the Grand Millennium at 71 Mayoral Drive in the central city, which means no run out to the airport and back before a day that was supposed to start early. A person hands you the keys and walks you round the car, and outside working hours the keys can be left with the concierge. Mileage is unlimited on every rental, so four of these in a week costs the same as one.
Book a car with Evolve Rentals and tell us which way you are heading. We will tell you what the traffic does at that hour, which is the part the map leaves out.
FAQs
Can you climb Lion Rock at Piha?
No. Auckland Council has the Lion Rock track closed as unsafe and unstable, pending a geotechnical assessment, and the site is also a registered archaeological one. A number of travel pages still recommend the climb, so check the council's track status rather than the guidebooks.
What is the best day trip from Auckland?
Piha at about an hour west for the black sand coast, Kumeu at about half an hour northwest for the wine, Matakana at about an hour north if it is a Saturday and the market is on, and the Hunua Ranges at about an hour southeast for native bush and a waterfall with almost nobody in it.
When is the Matakana Farmers Market?
Every Saturday from eight in the morning until one, at 2 Matakana Valley Road, whatever the weather is doing. It is about an hour from central Auckland, so leaving by half past eight gives you a proper run at it.
Can you swim at Hunua Falls?
Auckland Council does not recommend swimming at the falls. Large sections of the Hunua Ranges are also closed to limit the spread of kauri dieback, so check which tracks are open before you drive out, and use the cleaning stations at the trailheads.
Do you need a car for these?
Yes. None of the four sit on a useful public transport route, and the two coastal ones are a long way past where the buses stop. You collect from 71 Mayoral Drive in the central city rather than going out to the airport first.