Te Oneroa o Kahu / Long Bay Regional Park: Beach, Walks & Rules
Photo: “Looking south over Long Bay” by Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Park at a glance
- Region
- Auckland
- Location
- Long Bay, North Shore
- Managed by
- Auckland Council
- Dogs
- Dogs in some areas
- Camping
- No
Overview
Te Oneroa o Kahu / Long Bay Regional Park protects the northernmost of Auckland's East Coast Bays. It's a busy seaside park. A 1 km sandy beach backs onto wide grassy picnic areas, with farmland and coastal forest behind, and the Long Bay–Okura Marine Reserve runs along the whole coastline.
On a summer weekend Long Bay is one of the city's most popular beach parks. It has around 1,625 car parks, lifeguards in peak summer and a large accessible playground.
Getting there and opening hours
- Address: 2000 Beach Road, Long Bay. There's a second entrance off Glenvar Ridge Road.
- Vehicle gates: 7am–9pm during daylight saving and 7am–7pm the rest of the year
- Walk-in access: 24 hours
- Parking: About 1,625 spaces across seven car parks, plus 10 bus parks. Expect delays on summer weekends and public holidays.
Walks and tracks
| Track | Time | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Trail | 30 min | 0.8 km | Through coastal bush |
| Long Bay Coastal Track | 50 min | 3.4 km | Toward the Ōkura River |
| Coastal Walk (full) | 3 hr | 6 km | Tramping standard |
Grannys Bay is about a 20-minute walk north along the coast, and Pōhutukawa Bay about 30 minutes. You can also reach them around the rocks at low tide. Nude bathers sometimes use Pōhutukawa Bay.
Things to do
Swimming at Long Bay Beach
The 1 km main beach is relatively safe for swimming, and lifeguards patrol it in peak summer. Swim between the red and yellow flags and supervise children. There are three cold outdoor showers at the top of the beach access points. Check Safeswim for water quality.
Snorkelling and diving the marine reserve
The Long Bay–Okura Marine Reserve covers the whole coastline. It's a good place to snorkel and dive, but it's look-don't-touch. Fishing is prohibited throughout the park. In calm weather you can kayak to Piripiri Point and into the Ōkura River.
Picnics and Vaughan Homestead
There are four free electric BBQs and six bookable picnic sites. Groups of 100 or more must book. The Variety Children's Charity Playground and the BBQ shelter are designed for limited-mobility access. Vaughan Homestead, an 1863 farm cottage restored by the Torbay Historical Society, can be booked through the society.
Dogs at Long Bay
- Long Bay Beach: Dogs can be off-leash under control at any time from 2 March to 30 November. In summer (1 December to 1 March) they're off-leash only before 10am and after 5pm, and prohibited from 10am to 5pm.
- Southern car park: On a leash, using the direct beach access tracks and the path and bridge to Beach Road only. Drive in from Beach Road.
- Everywhere else (prohibited): All grassed areas, the playground, tracks including the Coastal Track, all beaches north of Vaughan Stream, the marine reserve foreshore, other car parks, and dogs inside vehicles.
Overnight stays
There's no campground at Long Bay, but you can book overnight car parking and a CSC area for self-contained vehicles.
Good to know
Mobile coverage is good across most of the park. Drinking fountains are along the foreshore. The nearest boat ramp is at Waiake Beach, about a 5-minute drive south.
Where is Te Oneroa o Kahu / Long Bay Regional Park?
The pin marks: Centre of the park area (-36.6750, 174.7449). It isn't an entrance or car park, so check the council's park page for access points before you go. Plan a route on OpenStreetMap (opens in a new tab).
Location data: Auckland Council Park Extents (CC BY 4.0); OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
Check before you go
Track closures, gate times, fire bans and storm damage change often. Auckland Council posts current alerts for Te Oneroa o Kahu / Long Bay Regional Park on its official park page.
Current park alerts