Mt Vernon Walk - Wither Hills Farm Park

Wither Hills Farm Park, named after early landowner Charles Bigg Wither, covers 1100 hectares of rolling hill country.

A working farm, it also has an extensive network of walking and mountain biking tracks. At the two main entry points there are information panels with maps of the different tracks. If you have time for only one walk, we recommend the Mt Vernon track for its stunning 360 degree views.

Mt Vernon Walk is 2-3 hours return on a loop track.

Start from the car park at the end of Redwood St. Take the track that goes past the information shelter, not the mountain biking track. We recommend a morning start for some shade when you’re climbing. The descent is exposed with no shade. For about 30 minutes you walk up an attractive valley. When the track forks, keep left. It’s a steady climb for about 50 minutes to the Mt Vernon lookout from the fork.

A huge fire that swept through the area on Boxing Day 2000. Most cabbage trees have regenerated and a planting programme replaced the many thousands of trees destroyed.

From the lookout there is a superb view of Blenheim, the Wairau Valley, Cloudy Bay and the Richmond Range You can also see, to the south, the highest mountain outside the Southern Alps: Mt Tapuwae O Uenuku (2,885 metres). As you descend the track - now shared with mountain bikers - the views of the plains and town become more intimate.

The Taylor Pass Gateway has been transformed into mountain biking territory.

At Taylor Pass Gateway car park on Taylor Pass Road, another notice board gives information on the walks in that part of the Farm Park.
Rotary Lookout - 25 minutes one way § Lower Quail Stream, Rotary Lookout - 1 hour 45 minutes return.
Forest Hills Walk to Redwood Street car park - 45 minutes one way.