About | Dawson Falls
Time: 10 min one way | Distance: 250 m
This is only a short walk to the 18 metre Dawson Falls. Wind your way through a dense and goblin-like forest and down to falls. Let the kids have a play and rock hop down the stream. Then head back up and if you go for a little wander in the other direction you come across a viewpoint of the falls, then head back the way you came.
The falls are named after Thomas Dawson, the first European to discover them in 1883. He was a post office official and spent a lot of his spare time exploring the mountain’s relatively unknown slopes. To Maori, they are known as Te Rere o Noke or the Falls of Noke, who was a Maori warrior who hid behind the falls from pursuers.
The Dawson Falls Visitor Centre
Drop-in at Dawson Falls Visitor Centre to read up about the area and talk with their friendly staff about any questions you may have.
Find more walks in the area
There are plenty of great walks in the area, the hard part is choosing which ones you’ll do. Download the Dawson Falls and East Egmont Walks brochure to find out more.
Where to Park
The Dawson Falls Track starts 400m from the Dawson Falls Visitor Centre carpark, back down Manaia Road. The road up is narrow but there are a few spaces available beside the track, or you can just walk from the carpark.
Nearby
Wilkies Pools
Dawson Falls
Taranaki Poineer Village
Location
Photos
Reaching the end of the road, we parked our car and had a quick look through the Dawson Falls Visitor Centre, wishing we could spend a lot more time here to explore the Egmont National Park. Continuing on we found a track beside the visitor centre that led to a lookout, with views of the surrounding area and the mount in the back.
The walk was short and sweet and we enjoyed every second walking through that goblin-like forest. The walk was all downhill and we made it to the falls in no time.
Reaching the falls, the kids had a good play and wander. It was a very beautiful setting and such an easy walk we’d highly recommend it to families.
Before heading off, we decided to go for a quick wander for this viewpoint of the waterfall. It didn’t take long to find.
