Queen Elizabeth Park
http://www.gwrc.govt.nz/QEP
Queen Elizabeth Park
Mackays Crossing, SH 1
The Mackays Crossing entrance off SH1 gives access to Whareroa Beach and surrounding dunes, picnic areas, walking, cycling and horse riding trails, the Tramway Museum, WWII Marines displays, several wetlands and the kahikatea forest remnant.
For more information about other entrances check the Getting there tab in left hand menu.
Opening hours
8am till dusk
Dogs are welcome in some areas.
Dogs are not permitted on or near farmland.
Please keep your dog on a leash in the picnic areas.
Park notices
Wood Collection at Tramways Carpark 20 July
Wood from the tree felling at Mackays Crossing will be available for public collection at 8am on Saturday 20 July. This will be available on a first come, first served basis so set your alarms and get here early! The wood will be available to collect from the Tramways carpark. It is already chopped and ready to go and no cutting will be permitted on site so please leave any chainsaws at home.
Park entrance at QEP
We’re getting things started for the new and improved park entrance in Queen Elizabeth Park!
To kick things off we are removing some old, sick exotic trees near the tram car park. This gives us an opportunity to prevent any trees from falling down unexpectedly and keep our visitors safe.
Works to do this will start on Monday 15 July and will take about a week to complete. You’ll still be able to get in through all the park entrances and no work will happen over the weekend. We just ask that you keep away from the worksite to keep yourself safe.
Keep an eye on this page for future updates as the work for our new park entrance and carpark continues.
Planting days at QEP
Come along to Queen Elizabeth Park this planting season to help us with our restoration work!
- 16 June - Meet at the wetland on Poplar Ave opposite Matai Road
- 23 June - Meet at Raumati entrance at the end of The Esplanade
- 28 July - Follow signs from 90 Poplar Ave (opposite Te Ra School) to parking site
Come along any time from 10am to 12noon to lend a hand and a spade.
Spade Aid
11 August - Spade Aid is our biggest planting event of the season so we need your help to make it happen! Join in anytime between 10am to 2pm. If the day is wet then Spade Aid will be postponed for the 18 August.
For all events we will provide warm drinks and light snacks.
Please bring a rain jacket, warm clothes and sturdy shoes.
If you have them we would also love it if you brought along gardening gloves and a spade.
About
Queen Elizabeth Park has something for everyone; stop in at our award winning arrival centre, Ramaroa for information on what’s on offer.
We have picnics, sand dunes and wetlands, bird watching, walking, cycling, horse riding trails, a pony club and a historic tram to take you to the beach where you can swim and fish. The tram operates 11:00 am - 4.30pm Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays (except Christmas Day).
Park history
US Marines camp at Mackays Crossing
The coastal setting, plentiful food and central location of what is now Queen Elizabeth Park have long attracted people to the area. Maori have been living here for hundreds of years and there were major settlements at Wainui and Whareroa up until the mid-1800s. Although the land was covered in forest, the numerous waterways were deep enough for canoes to be paddled from Paekakariki to Waikanae.
