Long Bay Regional Park is a large Auckland City park on the coast between Torbay and the Okura River mouth. The suburb behind the park is Long Bay. The main feature of the park is Long Bay Beach. Behind the beach is a large grassed parkland area with sheltering trees, including extensive picnic facilities. There is also a wetland between the park and suburban Long Bay. At the north end of the beach is the mouth of Vaughan Stream. From there, the shore becomes cliff-lined primarily.
Back along the stream is historic Vaughan Homestead. The area was a farm for 100 years before being purchased by Auckland City in 1965. Near the house, there’s a short nature walk with several superb mature puriri trees, plus access to the North Shore Coastal Walk.
The North Shore Coastal Walk, a section of Te Araroa, follows Long Bay Beach. The walk then heads inland to the south of the Vaughan Stream and winds up the hills behind the sea cliffs. It crosses the farm section of Long Bay Regional Park, more or less following the cliff tops. You can continue as far as the Okura River, which marks the northern end of the North Shore Coastal Walk. Several excellent viewpoints are available from the track, including one that looks back down the main beach. You can access the shoreline at Pohutukawa Bay and return via the beach for a loop walk. This track is also an excellent place for catching sunsets.
Long Bay is the first of several beautiful Auckland City regional parks on the northeast Auckland coast, heading north. These include Wenderholm, Shakespear, Tawharanui and Te Ārai.
The regional park can be very busy on holidays. Even though there is plenty of parking and room to spread out, try to visit outside these times. There are also ten overnight campsites.
