Kids won’t believe what they will find on this Hanmer Forest Walk: Forest Amble Walk
Forest Amble Walk: Find the exquisite wooden sculptures hidden in the woods
The Forest Amble Walk is a perfect short walk for kids as there are around half a dozen wooden art sculptures to find along the way. Starting with the dog at the entrance to the trail, they will also find a bear, monster, eagle and the cutest rats on a log along the way. Toddlers will love toddling along the forest trail, with soft pine needles covering the ground, the perfect landing space for a tumble or two. Our 4 and 6 year old loved an incentive to walk and explore. I love seeing them run ahead with the distant shrieks of “I found one!” echoing down the trail.
The Art in the Forest: Forest Amble Walk took about 30 minutes to stroll around. It is not very long at all, and will all depend on the walking pace of your youngest walker.
How to get to the Forest Amble walk
The track starts at 100 Jollies Pass Road. There is a car park on the left hand side of the road (coming from Hanmer Springs township) and the track starts on the right. There is also an information board near the carpark with all the mountain bike trails and walking tracks on it, if you wanted to venture further. There are also toilets located here, the main entrance to the Hanmer Forest Park.
Connecting to the Fairy Doors Walk
We actually connected this Forest Amble Walk to the Fairy Doors Walk, so we could walk both in one go. If you have young kids, you will definitely want to do the Fairy Doors Walk (see photo below) as well. It is only a 20-30 minute return walk at most and another Hanmer Springs walk the kids will run around finding the next “treasure”. To find out the directions and more about the Fairy Door Walk, click here
Other fun things to do in Hanmer Springs
- Check out our Best Things to do in Hanmer Springs article
- Fairy Door Walk: Short walk for kids (above photo)
- Hanmer Waterfall Walk: 2-3 hour walk to Dog Stream Waterfall
- Conical Hill Walk: 1 hour return walk with breathtaking views
- Mountain Biking in Hanmer with kids
Jennifer
Founder of Backyard Travel Family
Jen is a super organiser when it comes to travel. Having travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, has lived in London and the USA and holidayed in many parts of Asia, she is not a newbie to the travel space
Jen has three young children, 5 and under and travels around New Zealand with them.
what you need to know
Travel
- A few minutes drive from Hanmer Springs Village
- The Forest Amble Walk starts on Jollies Pass Road opposite the main carkpark for Hanmer Forest
The walk
- very easy stroll
- 30 minutes appoximately
- wooden sculptures to find along the track
- path is pine needles and compacted dirt
- flat walk
Suitable for kids?
Yes! Our toddler walked the majority of this walk and our 4 and 6 year old happily walked and explored, looking for the wooden animals hidden in the forest.
Facilities
- Free Parking
- Toilets (in the main carpark on the opposite side of the road)
- Whole track is shaded from the trees so you are protected from sun and wind (and probably quite a bit of rain, its quite dense)
What to bring
- camera to capture the delightful looks on the childrens faces
Food options
Hanmer Springs Village is only a few minutes drive with a 4 Square Supermarket, cafes and bakeries.
What the critics thought
