Upper Hutt
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Upper Hutt

Upper Hutt

Hutt Valley suburb where Wellington's northern edge opens into river trails and forested ranges.

Upper Hutt sits at the northern end of the Hutt Valley, about half an hour's drive northeast of downtown Wellington. It is the quieter, more suburban sibling of Lower Hutt, nestled against the hills where the valley narrows toward the Rimutaka Range.

The town is a gateway to some good outdoor country. Bartons Bush, in the suburb of Trentham, preserves one of the last remaining stands of podocarp forest in the Wellington region — towering rimu and kahikatea trees that predate European settlement. The Hutt River Trail is popular with cyclists and walkers, and the Remutaka Rail Trail, following an old rail line over the ranges to the Wairarapa, starts nearby.

Kaitoke Regional Park, 20 km north of town, is the best reason to make the trip from Wellington. The park's beech forest and Hutt River gorge are beautiful in themselves; the fact that Peter Jackson filmed Rivendell here for The Lord of the Rings is a bonus that brings in film fans from around the world.

Guide

Day Trips

Upper Hutt is a natural base for exploring the wider Wellington region. The Wairarapa wine country and Martinborough are accessible via the Remutaka Range — a 45-minute drive over the hill. Wellington itself, with its excellent museums, waterfront, and Te Papa, is half an hour south. The Kāpiti Coast beaches lie just over an hour to the northwest.

Guide

Getting There

Upper Hutt is about 30 km northeast of central Wellington. Metlink's Hutt Valley line (Wellington Rail) runs frequent services from Wellington Railway Station directly to Upper Hutt, taking around 45 minutes. Trains run every 30 minutes during peak hours and hourly off-peak. By car, State Highway 2 runs through the Hutt Valley directly to Upper Hutt; allow 30–40 minutes from central Wellington depending on traffic.

Guide

Things to Do

Upper Hutt sits at the edge of Wellington's suburban sprawl, where the Hutt Valley narrows and the hills take over. The rewards here are outdoors: native forest, a rail trail over the ranges, a regional park famous for its film connections, and the wide shingle banks of the Hutt River.