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Key facts
- Distance
- 1 - 5 km loop
- Walking time
- 30 min - 2 hr
- Track grade
- Easy; Advanced
- Location
- Geraldine area / Pioneer Park Conservation Area
- Dog access
- Dogs allowed. Keep dog under control at all times. Other pets on conservation land rules.
Checked against official sources on 8 October 2026. Rules and conditions are set by Department of Conservation — confirm with them before you go.
Route overview
There are two walks through this 390-hectare conservation area.
This DOC directory entry covers Pioneer Park Conservation Area tracks in Canterbury, within Geraldine area / Pioneer Park Conservation Area. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.
Distance, time and grade
- Distance: 1 - 5 km loop
- Walking time: 30 min - 2 hr
- DOC grade: Easy; Advanced
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 allowed. Keep dog under control at all times. Other pets on conservation land rules.
Description
There are two walks through the conservation area as well as a campground.
Homebush Track
Time: 30 min returnDistance: 1 km
Short walk with stream crossing This loop track starts from the campground, crossing a small stream and then climbing to a ridge where there are large kaikahikatea and tötara. The most impressive is a stately tötara about three metres in diameter. The track then returns via the Burke Hut memorial.
White Pine Track
Time: 2 hours returnDistance: 5 km
Easy tramping with stream crossings. This track starts from the Pioneer Park campground and climbs through regenerating native bush and then through introduced forestry trees. The return leg drops steeply into a native bush gully and zigzags (seven times) across the stream before meeting the original track. A left turn takes you back to the campground.
Getting there
Pioneer Park Conservation Area is 32 km from Geraldine. Follow the Geraldine Fairlie Highway (79) for 23 km before turning onto Gudex Road.
Take the next right onto Middle Valley Road. Follow this road for 2 km before turning left through iron gates into Pioneer Park.
Know before you go
Hunting is permitted within Pioneer Park Conservation Area from the 1 April to 30 September, excluding Easter and Anzac weekends. Hunters may be present at any time during this period.
History and culture
This 390-hectare conservation area has links with the earlysettlers of the district. Pioneer Park got its name in recognition of the early pioneer families who settled in this area; “to commemorate the courage and forbearance of the early settlers”.
Mr Burke was the first settler to drive a bullock cart over the pass (which now bears his name) into the Mackenzie country. Within the reserve, a chimney is all that remains of the house he built in 1885.
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.
