The Rainbow Road is one of the must-do’s of the Upper South Island for adventure riders. The road is a private road that was constructed to allow maintenance access to the power lines that the road follows. The land’s leaseholder allows public access from Boxing Day 26 December to 5pm on Easter Monday, outside this period you may get access by contacting the farm manager of Rainbow Station. There is a toll levied for road access which is payable at a gate and farm near the northern end of the road and at the time of writing the toll was $30 per motorcycle which must be paid in cash.
Along the road you will be treated to stunning views, wandering stock and a variety of terrain including one of the highest roads in NZ. There are also several places to camp which are detailed at the DOC pages linked to above.
The Rainbow Road can be a very exposed, harsh environment with temperatures ranging from below freezing to above 30 degrees with wind and rain. There is no cell phone reception and no recovery service so riders need to be self sufficient. While the track is usually easily passable it is not actively maintained and recent weather could have caused slips or flooding of the various fords on the northern section of the road. Riders should ensure they have enough petrol to enable them to turn back and cover the 112km return journey if required.
DOC access information for The Rainbow Road
DOC Pamphlet with detailed road and area information
Check out the Rainbow Station website for the latest conditions and for out of season access
Contributed by: @eddieb
Track type: Gravel road
Track composition: Bumpy, Firm, Undulating
Slippery when wet?: Yes
Suitable for bikes <650cc? Intermediate
Suitable for bikes >650cc? Intermediate
River crossings? Yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFcLIBMQm38
Posted on Facebook by Rainbow Station:
Rainbow Station
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As a trial, we are planning for the Rainbow Road to open on Saturday 17 December 2022 to enable people traveling the week prior to Christmas to use the road. We look forward to seeing you!
https://www.facebook.com/rainbowstationnz/posts/pfbid0QEvrS2fgT1545RsxJ8fi9qC3ruY85U5GTUsUUw9wHncXUmD83XufjYWTinwQPuAsl
Rainbow Station
11 h
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#urgent notification:
Due to slips, Rainbow Road is closed. Mike will work Wednesday (18 January) to clear the slips. We are aiming for the road to reopen on Thursday (19 January) and will confirm.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
Rainbow Station
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Thanks to Mike Newman, two slips on Rainbow Road cleared today. The road will reopen tomorrow morning (Thursday 19 January 2023) at 7am.
We look forward to seeing you!!
Due to the number of enquiries regarding driving the Rainbow Road during the April school holidays, the Rainbow Road will now be open until ANZAC Day (Tuesday 25 April 2023). We look forward to seeing you?
A great ride, one of my favourites, last time I went through was last November and it had a few slips so be careful if travelling alone
One of our FB members recently rode through the Rainbow and recorded some video.
one of the best rides in nz,old enduro rider.
molesworth nother good one
As of 18/02/2016 the Rainbow Road will be closed for a few days due to recent weather.
Following the recent Kaikoura earthquakes the Rainbow Road is closed due to a slip.
You can find updates on this page on the doc website: http://www.doc.govt.nz/news/issues/kaikoura-earthquake/
A group of riders were granted access on December 5th and headed in from St Arnaud. 45km or so in there was a large impassable slip so it’s likely to be closed for a while.
Just spoke with the Farm Manager Road is open and he said the slip isn’t anymore. I gonna have a look on Friday we will see
The rainbow was open but it closed again due to floods and related damage.
http://rainbowstation.co.nz/rainbow-access/
Thank you for the update Eddie, I will phone the farm manager to see if its likely to be open this week, looks a bit like we will have to miss it out on our way down to Bannockburn
Summer? what summer.
These pics were taken at the Lake Tennyson campsite on Jan 4th 2017
https://www.facebook.com/Dwightsoutdoors/posts/1189452067774807
Another update to the Rainbow Road
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/canterbury/places/st-james-conservation-area/motor-vehicle-access/
Alert – 29 September 2017: Major damage to Tophouse Road. Recent flooding of the Clarence River has severely eroded large sections of Tophouse Road from St James Homestead to Maling Pass. Access is restricted until further notice.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1393672150751608&id=270920103026824
Hurunui District Council Facebook page 27/10/17 @6.21pm ‘Tophouse Road is now open.
The road is still rough, however 2wd can get through if the drive is taken gently.’
Email from Rainbow today 31/10/17 ‘At this stage and for the foreseeable future the road will be closed while we clear the slips that have happened due to the heavy rain we have had this year.
Please keep an eye on the website – http://www.rainbowstation.co.nz for further updates but it sounds like it could be closed for quite a while’.
How long does it usually take to go through the Rainbow? I’m mapping the SIT2B route. Once I convinced google there is a route through, it tells me that its a 9 hour trip… but only 94 kms. A lot of the riding seemed good from the videos. Who has done it and how long did it take??
Cheers
It took me about 4hrs including stops. It a great ride. Won’t be open again until the summer now.
There’s a 40km/h speed limit through the Rainbow too.
Thanks. Ill work on 4 hours for now.
The Rainbow Road has been closed at Hells Gate until Christmas 2018 due to m.Bovis bovine disease.
It’s just been announced that the Rainbow Road and Molesworth station are closing from February 10th at 7pm until further notice due to extreme dry conditions and the associated fire risk.
https://www.facebook.com/rainbowstationnz/posts/535719103504201
Rainbow Station
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Hi Everyone,
Unfortunately due to the Corona Virus lockdown we will be closing the road as of 6pm Wednesday the 25th of March. We apologise for any inconvenience but we need to keep our staff safe and do our bit to keep New Zealand safe ! We would also like to mention there will be no access for hunting on Rainbow or the DOC estate during lockdown. Take care out there and do your bit by staying home!!
Rode this on New Years Day 2021 on a 800GS
Loads of fun
Quite a few cars on the road, but very accommodating when you want to get past
Rainbow Station have just posted on their Facebook page that the Rainbow Road has been closed due to slips.
Rainbow Station on Facebook
ROAD CLOSED!!!!
Due to extreme weather conditions and large slips down over the road in the Hells Gate region and on Molesworth.
Wow, I just came through on Friday 15th. Road had a few rough patches but was pretty good. Here are some slideshows of the ride….
https://vimeo.com/501327725
https://vimeo.com/501329950
The Rainbow Road as at 21 January 2021 is marked as closed due to a major slip blocking the road.
https://www.rainbowstation.co.nz/road-status
As of January 21st the Rainbow Road is open again.
Rode through over Feb 5 and 6. From Hanmer to Lake Tennyson is fine if a tad rougher than Molesworth. After that there are many slips, over which you need to ride in 4wd tracks. There were lots of bikes and 4wders on the road including a few 2 up on big bikes.
For me it was a handful with a fully loaded vstrom. I stuffed up the last water crossing and dumped the bike but i had a few somewhat out of control moments on the loose rocky downhills.
Quite a ride. Im very glad i was not doing it on my own.
Thanks for the report. I was thinking of doing it next week on my WeeStrom, but being new to dirt and riding on my own, I think I’ll give it a pass. Or maybe hanging out at one end or the other and seeing if I can make some new friends for the trip!
I would try to team up with someone before doing that. My strom had 50 50 tyres and a bash plate. Im not a very good gravel rider, so i found it quite challenging. Its quite a bit different to Molesworth. I had always assumed that they are more or less the same but they’re not.
I dont know whether the current condition is normal or whether it will inprove. The locals would know better.
It is a stunning bit of road though.
One of my favourite bits of roads. The current conditions are pretty standard (went through a few weeks ago). It gets worse, and it can be better, but right now is pretty representative. You see all sorts getting over the track – roadbikes, minivans, lots of horse-riders, etc.. The bulk of the road is just a normal gravel track, with some rougher bits on several streams that tend to get washed out/slips, and some decent sized potholes depending when they last had the dozer go over it. Any of that will see you off if you are on a big bike with road tyres and/or not a confident rider.
If you are new to gravel I’d give it a miss, and enjoy the views on the Molesworth instead. Oldbeers post is spot-on.
A lot of the people going over will take a more “challenging line” or be hitting it at pace, and so teaming up with someone could be difficult, I would not recommend that.
But saying all that it’s still a road and so not that challenging in the greater scheme of things.
Awesome ride! Through one of the most picturesque routes in NZ fantastic views, epic mountains. Real adventure for true adventure rider!
Check my recent ride video!
https://youtu.be/0QlKEPllrdc
From Rainbow Station.
RAINBOW ROAD IS CLOSED
It’s that time of year folks! The Rainbow road is officially closed from 6pm tonight 5/4/21. We hope you had a chance to get through and view the property during the open season, if not, come and see us next summer. Its now time for us to muster up all the cattle for calf weaning and put the cows into their winter grazing blocks. Thanks from the team at Rainbow Station.
Rainbow Station has had A LOT of rain over the last few days and the Rainbow Road has been washed out in several places.
Wow, that’s gonna take a fair bit of earth moving to fix…
Rainbow Station have just shared this update:
Rainbow Road is scheduled to be open to all vehicles between Tuesday 11 January and Monday 7 February 2022 for travel between St Arnaud – Hanmer and Hanmer – St Arnaud.
Road tolls are payable at the Old Rainbow Station Homestead, located near Connors Creek. If you have any questions please email duncan@nelsonhoney.com
Sorry folks, it’s closed again.
And… it’s open for a week.
I was talking to DOC yesterday about this. I’m waiting on tyres but want to go through asap. Question: I’m using hard panniers but will get soft bags in due course- can I just run a tail bag and push through to Hamner? I would camp but all that gravel with big panniers and gear will be sh!t right? I’m on a tiger so panniers onto the rigid subframe- if I drop it then likely bends and breaks (not good).
DOC won’t know much as Rainbow Road is private through a farm? DOC have more to do with Molesworth (which is closed I think)? Plus Molesworth is where the campsite options are. Camping on the Rainbow there is only one real option with an old long-drop.
Regardless, the Rainbow is a short road, and you have to go out of your way to camp while on it (plus ask/let the farmer know). You would be fine with hard panniers and luggage, just go slow/watch the potholes. If you are not confident about things, your risk/worry of dropping the bike, maybe don’t do the road by yourself? If there has been a slip after all the rain then all bets are off – the road can go from decent gravel-track to nightmare depending on slips….
No the Awatere Valley road is closed due to damage. I’m talking going in to Molesworth via the Rainbow Station- that’s what DOC recommended. So get to Molesworth then go down to Hamner Springs and stay there. I grew up on dirt bikes so I’m fine, just loaded up and technical sucks. I ride alone generally.
Sounds like a great plan, especially with the forecast pretty good! 🙂
How technical is the track down from Molesworth Station to Hamner? The DOC guy told me in good conditions a 2WD car can get down one of the 2 roads. Which is the right track to take?
I’ve driven it a few times in a low 2wd car. Either track down to Hamner is fine if you are slow. Jollies Pass is rougher.