PictonNZWaitohi · Marlborough Sounds
A small playground with swings and a slide on grass at Momorangi Bay

Short walks, boats, birds and a ship

Picton with kids

The easy end of the track network, the two museums, a boat with robins at the end of it, and a playground on the way to Anakiwa.

Photo: David Palmer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Families off the ferry
  • Families staying a few days

We only list things here where a source supports the claim of suitability — the council's Easy grade, a playground in the photographs, a museum. We do not know age ranges or prices for anything, and we say so rather than guess.

The plan

  1. Easy

    Foreshore to Shelly Beach

    Ten minutes on an Easy-graded path over the Coathanger Bridge to a beach with toilets. The foreshore reserve itself is lawn and palms between the cafes and the water.

    Picton's waterfront foreshore reserve with the marina and moored yachts

    Foreshore to Shelly Beach

    Ten minutes from the waterfront, over the Coathanger Bridge, to a small beach.

    10–25 minEasyFree
  2. Easy

    Picton to Waikawa

    The council's only Easy-graded longer track: 3.5 km via Endeavour Park. Shared with bikes.

    Yachts and launches moored at Waikawa Marina

    Picton to Waikawa Track

    The easy, dog-friendly walk between Picton and the next bay.

    45 min – 1.5 hrsEasyFree
  3. Indoors

    The Edwin Fox and the Heritage Museum

    A real ship you walk through, and harpoons and shipwreck salvage a few minutes away.

    The Edwin Fox Maritime Museum building beside Picton harbour

    Edwin Fox Maritime Museum

    An 1853 teak sailing ship in dry dock on the waterfront — one of the oldest surviving merchant hulls anywhere.

    45 min – 2 hrsWalk from townKids
  4. On the water

    Motuara Island

    Robins that come to your feet, a short track to a lookout tower. Cruises call there from the foreshore.

    Looking out over Queen Charlotte Sound from Motuara Island's summit platform

    Motuara Island

    A predator-free bird sanctuary in the outer sound — saddleback, robin and kākāriki — with a lookout tower on its 128 m summit.

    Half a day – a dayBy boatKids
  5. With a car

    Momorangi Bay

    The reserve at the DOC campsite has a small playground; 25 minutes along Queen Charlotte Drive.

    Tents and vans on grass beside the water at Momorangi Bay campsite

    Momorangi Bay

    A fully serviced DOC campsite on Queen Charlotte Drive, 25 minutes from Picton, with a playground on the reserve.

    1 hrs – half a dayDriveKids
  6. Wet

Worth knowing

  • The Lower Bob's Bay cliff track has steep bluffs beside it — the council says supervise children.
  • Dogs are not permitted on the foreshore, in case you are travelling with one.

Track distances and times: Marlborough District Council's Picton by Foot or Bike brochure and track pages; Queen Charlotte Track figures from DOC. Ferry check-in guidance from the operators' own sites — confirm before travelling. Full list on the sources page.