Mahurangi Regional Park is one of the Matakana Coast’s most underrated free attractions — a sprawling coastal park wrapped around three peninsulas at the mouth of the historic Mahurangi Harbour, just north of Warkworth and barely ten minutes from Matakana Village. While better-known attractions on the coast draw the crowds, Mahurangi quietly offers everything a visitor could want from a coastal park: sheltered swimming beaches, scenic walking tracks, prolific birdlife, and some of the most peaceful harbour scenery in the Auckland region — all completely free to access.

The park is split into two main areas — the Mahurangi West and Mahurangi East sections — separated by the harbour. The western side, centred on Sullivans Bay, is the most accessible and popular, with a calm sheltered beach that is ideal for swimming, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Facilities here include toilets, picnic tables, and a boat ramp, making it a popular launching point for those exploring the harbour by water. The water at Sullivans Bay is typically calm and clear, and the pohutukawa-lined foreshore makes for a quintessentially New Zealand picnic setting.

Walking tracks on the western side connect the various headlands and bays, offering easy to moderate coastal rambles with views across the harbour to the Mahurangi Peninsula and the rolling farmland beyond. The tracks are well-maintained and clearly signposted, passing through regenerating native bush and open farmland, with several elevated lookout points that reward the short climbs with sweeping harbour views. Birdlife throughout the park is prolific — the tidal mudflats and estuarine margins attract large numbers of wading birds year-round, including godwits, herons, kingfishers, and variable oystercatchers.

The eastern side of the park, accessible via Hamatana Road, offers a wilder and more remote experience, with longer walking tracks, historic farm buildings, and secluded bays that see far fewer visitors. Scotts Landing on the eastern side is particularly scenic, with a beautiful sheltered beach and a jetty that makes a lovely spot for an afternoon swim. The historic Mahurangi House, a kauri farmhouse dating from the 1860s, is visible from several points on the eastern tracks and adds a strong sense of the area’s colonial history to the landscape.

The Mahurangi Harbour itself has a rich and layered history. It was one of the earliest centres of European settlement in the Auckland region, with kauri timber milling and shipbuilding industries establishing Warkworth as a significant town in the mid-1800s. The park’s proximity to Warkworth means it combines naturally with a visit to Parry Kauri Park, a short drive away, where two of the largest surviving kauri trees in the Auckland region can be seen up close — a humbling experience that puts the scale of the original kauri forests into perspective.

From Matakana, take Matakana Road toward Warkworth and follow signs to Sullivans Bay, which is reached via Hamatana Road on the western side of the harbour. The drive takes around 10 minutes. Free parking is available at Sullivans Bay and at several other access points throughout the park. Dogs are permitted in some areas of the park on a leash — check the Auckland Council website for the latest rules before visiting.