The Tararua Forest Park covers most of the steep, beech-clad range east of Levin and extends south to Wellington. The Levin side of the range has a couple of good day-walk entry points — most usefully Poads Road, about 15 kilometres east of town, where short tracks lead to swimming holes on the Ohau River and the start of the longer climbs to Yeates Track Hut and beyond.
This is not the easiest country to tramp: the Tararuas are notorious for weather that turns suddenly and for tracks that climb steeply on slippery roots. Day walks within an hour of the road-end are fine for casual visitors; anything overnight requires proper preparation and hut tickets from DOC. The Makahika River, off Gladstone Road further south, has the best of the local swimming holes.