Egmont Village: Forest Trails and History
Accommodation in Egmont Village
Egmont Village combines information about nearby walking tracks with a tangible sense of local history. Depending on your interests, you can explore a family-friendly forest walk, a challenging hike, or traces of the area’s past school and food history. When choosing a holiday rental, it is therefore worth first considering whether you mainly want to spend time outdoors or also learn about the region’s history.
Forest trails with different levels of difficulty
In Egmont Village, the turnoff from SH23 onto North Egmont Road for the Veronica Loop Track is signposted. The track starts at the North Taranaki Visitor Centre, at the end of Egmont Road beyond the turnoff to the village. It is the main gateway to Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, formerly Egmont National Park. The Veronica Loop Track climbs through changing alpine rainforest; an optional detour to a viewpoint offers views of the mountain and the coast.
To reach the Nature Walk, Ambury Monument Walk and Ngatoro-Waiwhakaiho Loop Track, turn off State Highway 3 onto Egmont Road in Egmont Village. The access road to the visitor centre at the end of the road is signposted. The family-friendly Nature Walk leads through the forest and past the Ambury Monument. The Ngatoro-Waiwhakaiho Loop Track offers a different kind of experience: this challenging hike passes through some of the last remnants of Taranaki’s lowland forest. The Connett Loop Track is also nearby; it leads through a moss- and lichen-covered forest to a small viewpoint overlooking the mountain. It is reached via Egmont Village, but is not in the village itself. The tracks therefore differ not only in their landscapes but also in character.
Monuments and traces of the past
The Ambury Monument Walk leads to a monument to mountaineer Arthur Ambury. He died on 3 June 1918 while attempting to rescue William Edwin Gourlay, after Gourlay slipped on ice. The monument gives the walk a historical dimension beyond its forest setting.
The nearby York Loop Track in Egmont National Park tells a different story. It partly follows the former Egmont Branch Railway Line, built in 1901 to supply road-building material and rock for Port Taranaki. Quarry operations ceased in the late 1920s. Along the track, features including the sites of former barracks and houses, as well as an old crusher site with a large retaining wall, remain. In Egmont Village itself, the blockhouse was later used as the village’s first school. The area’s food history is also part of its story: the Olson family was known for homemade cheese and butter there until 1892.
Horse-riding opportunities and seasonal visits
Egmont Village Riding School offers riding lessons for children, teenagers and adults, including individual and group lessons as well as holiday programmes. During the school term, private and group lessons and pony rides are available Tuesday to Saturday. The holiday programme runs Monday to Friday during school holidays. This distinction between term time and holidays is important when planning a visit; check the provider’s current schedule.
Egmont Downs is a garden in Egmont Village and is listed as a “Returning Garden”. Its entry in the festival programme is seasonal. If you plan to visit the garden, check current opening dates and visitor guidelines before your trip.
The wider New Plymouth District
Beyond Egmont Village, the wider destination of New Plymouth District offers other experiences too. The 13.2 km Coastal Walkway runs along the coast from Pioneer Park at Port Taranaki to the eastern side of Bell Block Beach. Puke Ariki has three permanent exhibition galleries covering the region’s history, taonga and natural world; admission to all areas of the museum is free. As admission arrangements may change, check them before your visit. Another option is the guided Puke Ariki Historic Walk through central New Plymouth: the tour is about 3 km long and takes two hours. Check the times and booking requirements in advance.
When choosing your holiday rental, you can weigh up these different interests: Egmont Village offers ways to explore forest trails and local history, while the Coastal Walkway and Puke Ariki’s offerings reveal other sides of New Plymouth District. This can help you decide what to focus on during your trip without treating the different places and experiences as interchangeable.
Discover more destinations: New Plymouth, Oakura, Hillsborough.
For the wider travel overview: New Plymouth District.
