Driving the unsealed Lake Road in NZ

Lake Road is an amazing unsealed road located in the North Island of New Zealand. The road leads to the Lake Waikaremoana, in the heart of Tuhoe country.

Lake Road

Lake Road is 57km (35 miles) long. It's part of the Te Urewera Rainforest Route (New Zealand State Highway 38). It’s located within the Te Urewera National Park. The route has long sections of unsealed gravel road and winds its way through native rainforest and past small rural settlements.

After rain, even a single rainfall, conditions of the road can be challenging. Adverse weather conditions can prompt closure of the road. It's best taken at a sedate pace - traffic is sparse, but it's narrow and twisting. Numbers of visitors to the area are mitigated by the unsealed road that must be taken to reach it. The whole road snakes its way through the park so it’s not for the faint of heart. Beyond the junction with Aniwaniwa Road, it continues as Waikaremoana Road.

 

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