The Cannon Point Walkway is a hiking trail in the

Akatarawa Forest Akatarawa Forest is a regional park in the Upper Hutt within the Wellington Region at the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It encompasses 15,000 hectares of native and plantation forest. It includes the headwaters of the Maungako ...

on the western side of the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...

in the North Island of New Zealand. The walkway is a loop of in length, ascending to the Cannon Point trig at , and with a total elevation gain of . The portion of the track through the Akatarawa Forest Park is maintained by the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environ ...

. The name of the hill and the walkway comes from the reports of a large tree that fell near the top of the hill. The fallen tree was said to look like a cannon when viewed from below. The area was part of Valley View Station, and the steep zig-zag track to the summit was originally cut by the farm owners for access on foot and horseback. The road ends are at Bridge Road,

Birchville Birchville is a suburb of Upper Hutt, New Zealand in the North Island. Its centre lies at the entrance to the Akatarawa Valley The Akatarawa Valley is a valley in the Tararua Range of New Zealand's North Island. It provides a link from the ...

and Tulsa Reserve in

Tōtara Park Tōtara Park is a suburb of Upper Hutt, New Zealand, located 2 km northeast of the city centre. It is accessed via the Tōtara Park Bridge which crosses the Hutt River, connecting it to State Highway 2 and the main Upper Hutt urban area. ...

. The route from Bridge Road follows the path of a former water supply pipeline upstream along Clarke's Creek to the historic

Birchville Dam Birchville Dam is believed to be the second unreinforced concrete arch dam built for water supply in New Zealand. It was built in 1930 for the Upper Hutt Borough Council to provide increased water capacity for the borough and replaced a water supp ...

. From the dam there is a steep ascent to the ridgeline and then along to the Cannon Point trig at elevation. From the trig there are panoramic views of the Hutt Valley. The loop is completed by a walk along the banks of the Hutt River between the two road ends. On Sunday 9 October 1932, a "mystery" railway excursion to Upper Hutt attracted 800 people, many of whom took the opportunity to complete a hike of around from the Akatarawa picnic grounds to the lookout at Cannon Point. A zig-zag portion of the track from Tulsa Park up to the Cannon Point trig crosses private land, and was closed by the landowner in December 2017 after a dispute between the landowner and the

Upper Hutt City Council Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north-e ...

. Access was restored in August 2018. A new bridge at the Birchville end of the track was opened in October 2022. Cannon Point Trig

References

{{Coord, 41, 05, 17.88, S, 175, 03, 51.84, E, display=title Upper Hutt Hiking and tramping tracks in New Zealand Regional parks of New Zealand