In May 2021, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Stuart Nash, who officially opened the trail a year earlier, announced that the Lake Dunstan Trail was awarded Great Ride status, taking the number of Great Rides of New Zealand to 23.
“The Lake Dunstan Trail is a fantastic addition to both the Great Rides network and the myriad of other trails in Central Otago and the lower South Island. It traverses some of the most breath-taking landscapes of the Cromwell Gorge and is a feat of engineering and design brilliance, with suspended boardwalks hanging off rock faces,” he says.
The tripartite funding agreement between central government ($13.15 million), Central Lakes Trust ($11.15 million) and Otago Community Trust ($2 million) was announced in 2016 to fund the 170km network of trails joining the Great Rides of our region. The Lake Dunstan Trail is the first of five to be completed by COQTNT.
The vision from the outset was to create a world-class and accessible trail network linking the Great Rides in our area. Joining of the trail network is a huge initiative, and The Lake Dunstan Trail’s success is testament to that vision for our community and to what the entire network will become.
The trail has had over 80,000 people utilise it in its single year of operation. The economic benefits for Central Otago in the trail’s first year of operation is calculated to be in the millions.
Cycle trails have experienced a boom in popularity over the past couple of years, with COVID-19 lockdowns and kiwis staying on our shores, more have got out on their bikes to experience our beautiful landscapes. None more so than the unique Lake Dunstan Trail with its several bluff clip-ons and swing bridges traversing imposing rocky bluffs amongst other stunning features. Add to that the advent of e-bikes making our trails even more accessible and one can begin to understand the numbers through the trail.
The trail provides benefits to residents within the region beyond simply the health and wellbeing of getting out walking and cycling.
That the Trust has been able to contribute to this legacy asset for our community is something we are enormously proud of. We look forward to the future benefits and opportunities that joining the entire network will provide.