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Story: Walking tracks

National and forest parks

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National and forest parks

The development of walking tracks in the 1950s was helped by the increase in national parks and by the forest parks, set up by the Forest Service after 1954. By 2015 there were 13 national parks and 20 forest parks.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Walking tracks – Tracks since the Second World War, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/12826/national-and-forest-parks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 April 2016.