Little's Loop Track: Walking Guide, Time & Access

Route overview

A picnic area and an easy loop walk through beech forest

This DOC directory entry covers Little's Loop Track in Hawke's Bay, within Kaweka Forest Park. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.

Distance, time and grade

• Distance: 800 m loop
• Walking time: 30 min
• DOC grade: Easy

Access and alerts

Source checked 2026-10-08. This page is a dated snapshot, not a live track-status report. Check current DOC route information immediately before travelling. An absence of listed alerts does not establish that a route is open.

Dog access

Dogs with a DOC permit for recreational hunting or management purposes only. Other pets on conservation land rules.

Description

Four kilometres before Makahu Saddle, a short road turns off Kaweka Road and leads to Littles Clearing. Here there is a picnic area and a 30 minute loop walk through beech forest. The clearing itself is red tussock.

Getting there

Kaweka Road is located 65 km north-west of Napier. From Napier follow Puketitiri Road for 36 km before turning left into Whittle Road.

Whittle Road passes partly through farmland, to the park entrance (please leave all gates as found). This road may be closed at times due to snow and ice.

Kaweka Road is the first road on the right. Turn onto Kaweka road, then turn off onto a side road 4 km before Makahu Saddle. This is signposted for Littles Clearing.

Kaweka Forest Park access conditions

We recommend 4WD vehicles to reduce wear on the road and safe travel.

• Lotkow Road: The river crossings are regularly changing, check before crossing.

• Lakes carpark is accessible via Kuripapango road. The previous access Castle Rock road is now closed due to ongoing forestry operations.

• Lawrence Carpark access road: The last 600 m of the road is steep and not recommended for 2WD vehicles - a parking space is available before the descent. The Lawrence swing bridge has been removed.

• Mackintosh car park is currently closed due to ongoing forestry operations. A new parking location can be located at a skid site near the closed gate (end of Kuripapango Road), this will add on 500 m walking to reach the start of the track.

• Whittle Road: Be aware of trucks using the quarry. Give them right of way where possible.

Nature and conservation

Mistletoe

When Augustus Hamilton explored the Kaweka range in 1882, he found masses of mistletoes in the forests. That was before the deer arrived. Seventy years later hunters could still see shows of the red or yellow flowers but only above the head height of a browsing deer. That was before the possums arrived. Within a decade of possums becoming established mistletoes were hard to find.

That was until 1991. A search was made for surviving mistletoe and netting cages were built around the plants. At the same time a comprehensive possum programme was put in place. It took only five years to see a spectacular recovery.

There are four mistletoe species in the Puketitiri-Eastern Kaweka area: yellow mistletoe and red mistletoe which grow only on beech trees, common mistletoe and green mistletoe which are found on a variety of smaller trees and shrubs.

Sources and reuse

Route descriptions and practical information reproduced from the Department of Conservation, Crown copyright, under CC BY 4.0, subject to DOC's copyright policy. Formatting has been adapted, including flattening page sections; follow the original DOC page for maps, section-specific layout, current notices and linked documents. Outdoor Next is independent and is not endorsed by DOC.

The accompanying photograph is a licensed general hiking illustration, not a photograph of this route.