The Forest Parks of New Zealand are on public land administered by the Department of Conservation.

Forest parks have a less stringent level of protection than National Park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

s and they are used for a wide variety of recreational and commercial activities.

List of Forest Parks

There is a total of twenty Forest Parks in New Zealand:

• Aorangi Forest Park
• Catlins Forest Park
• Coromandel Forest Park
• Craigieburn Forest Park
  Craigieburn Forest Park
  Craigieburn Forest Park is a protected area in the South Island of New Zealand.One of its boundaries lies in part alongside State Highway 73 and is adjacent to the eastern flanks of the Southern Alps....
  
  
• Hanmer Forest Park
• Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park
• Kaimanawa Forest Park
• Kaweka Forest Park
  Kaweka Forest Park
  Kaweka Forest Park is in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand.Invasive wilding conifers are present in the park.The Mangatutu Hot Springs, in the vicinity of the Mohaka River, are in the park.-External links:* - Kaweka Forest Park...
  
  
• Lake Sumner Forest Park
  Lake Sumner Forest Park
  thumb|right|Gabriel hut at lake Sumner Forest ParkLake Sumner Forest Park is located in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand.-External links:* - Lake Sumner Conservation Park* - Lake Sumner Forest Park tramping tracks...
  
  
• Mount Richmond Forest Park

• Northland Forest Park
• Otago Goldfields Forest Park
• Pirongia Forest Park
• Pureora Forest Park
  Pureora Forest Park
  Pureora Forest Park is a protected area in the North Island of New Zealand. Within its rich rain forest are an abundance of 1000 year old podocarp trees. It is “recognized as one of the finest rain forests in the world”...
  
  
• Raukumara Forest Park
• Rimutaka Forest Park
  Rimutaka Forest Park
  Rimutaka Forest Park is a protected area near Wellington, New Zealand. It covers , encompassing the Catchpool Valley and the Orongorongo Valley at the southern end of the Rimutaka Range...
  
  
• Ruahine Forest Park
• Tararua Forest Park
  Tararua Forest Park
  Tararua Forest Park is a protected area in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its area is 116,535 ha , and its highest point, a peak called Mitre, is at 1571 m above sea level. It was established in 1954, as New Zealand's first Forest Park, and is managed by the Department of Conservation ...
  
  
• Victoria Forest Park
• Whirinaki Forest Park
  Whirinaki Forest Park
  Whirinaki Forest Park is a publicly accessible forest park in the North Island of New Zealand. The park is centered around the town of Minginui and part of the eastern boundary flanks the Urewera National Park....
  
  

A large portion of what is now Kahurangi National Park

Kahurangi National Park

Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers 4,520 km². It is the second largest of New Zealand's fourteen national parks...

 was formerly the North-west Nelson Forest Park.

See also

• National parks of New Zealand
  National parks of New Zealand
  The national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the Department of Conservation "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public". These are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand...
  
  
• Protected areas of New Zealand
  Protected areas of New Zealand
  Protected areas of New Zealand are on both public and private land. Nearly 30 percent of the land mass of New Zealand is in public ownership and has some degree of protection...
  
  
• Regional parks of New Zealand
  Regional parks of New Zealand
  Regional parks of New Zealand are administered by regional councils, the first tier of local government.-Auckland region:The regional parks in the Auckland region are administered by the Auckland Regional Council.*Ambury Regional Park...
  
  

External links

• Department of Conservation - Protected area statistics