The Tararua and Ruahine Ranges, the two long mountain spines that frame Palmerston North on the east, hold some of the best lower North Island tramping. The Tararua Forest Park is accessible from the Sledge Track car park 30 minutes east of the city; short day walks lead up to the bushline, and serious multi-day routes traverse the ranges to the Wairarapa.
For something less strenuous, the Foxton beach 40 kilometres west is one of the closest stretches of Tasman Sea coast, with its restored 19th-century De Molen Dutch windmill in town. The Manawatū Gorge, now reopened on a new route after a long closure following major landslides, runs east into the Wairarapa. The wine and food region of Martinborough is about 90 minutes' drive south through the Tararua hills, and Napier and its Art Deco streets are two and a half hours east through Norsewood and Dannevirke — the surprisingly intact Scandinavian-settled towns of the upper Manawatū.