New ZealandNew ZealandMiners' Tunnel Track · New ZealandWestland National Park/Tai Poutini National ParkLake Gault Track · Westland National Park/Tai Poutini National ParkWestland National Park/Tai Poutini National ParkWest CoastLake Matheson Walk · West CoastWest CoastEndStart5 kmN ↑

Gillespies Beach walking tracks other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)

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NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0) · OpenStreetMap · Official page · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).

7-day forecast

Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)

Best time to hike

No month meets all three rules below at this spot.

  1. J19°13°391
  2. F19°13°302
  3. M18°12°395
  4. A15°10°336
  5. M13°8°352
  6. J11°5°350
  7. J10°4°277
  8. A11°5°316
  9. S13°7°381
  10. O14°8°422
  11. N16°10°389
  12. D17°12°463

Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.

How we pick months

Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.

About this trail

A visit to Gillespies Beach offers a scenic drive, lovely views of the Southern Alps Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, an historic cemetery and coastal walks.

NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).

Trail facts

Length
3.8 km · 2.4 mi (DOC route geometry)
Source
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0)
Difficulty
Hard (7/10) (Easy, Advanced · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0))
Typical time (DOC)
Various: 5 min - 3 hr 30 min return
Official page
doc.govt.nz/link/fd4a6fd2505e4cecb73e8bc668b
Nearby park
Westland National Park/Tai Poutini National Park (0.23 km from the boundary)
Nearest town
6.6 km NW of Waikowhai (Westland District, West Coast) · GeoNames
Country
New Zealand
Continent
Oceania
Route centre
-43.4022, 169.8350
How it’s scored

Hard (7/10). Official rating: Easy, Advanced · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0).

A score is omitted when we do not have an official rating or enough measured length and elevation gain to compute one. Nothing is guessed. Read the NPS method: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/how-to-determine-hiking-difficulty.htm

Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.

Nearest trails

distance from the trail centre

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