Percy Scenic Reserve is a botanic garden and bush reserve in the Maungaraki hills on the western side of Lower Hutt. The reserve combines cultivated gardens — paths lined with rhododendrons, flowering trees, and ornamental plantings — with native bush where tui and kaka are sometimes heard. It is a good place for a half-morning walk within the city, with hillside views across the Hutt Valley to the Remutaka Range.
The garden sections are maintained by volunteers and are at their most spectacular in spring when the flowering trees are in bloom. The native bush section has quieter, rougher tracks where you can find yourself in genuine New Zealand forest within five minutes of the suburbs. No entry fee.