Events
Back Beach
Back Beach is a popular location for locals and visitors to the area. A good view of the beach can be gained from the car park and there are several other grassy reserve areas where people park and watch the beach from. Surfing, swimming and walking along the beach are the most popular activities for beach goers. Most surfers are confident with the conditions but swimmers often get in trouble with powerful rips and waves. There is no Surf Life Saving patrol at Back Beach but beach goers can travel north to Paritutu Beach where East End Surf Life Saving Club run patrols on summer weekends.
Ratings
Activities and facilities
Activities
- Canoeing/kayaking
- Dog walking
- Horse riding
- Wind/kite surfing
Facilities
- Car parking
- Public toilets
Safety
The beach is our favourite playground, but it can also be a dangerous place. Learn about the hazards at Back Beach and be prepared so you and your family can enjoy the sun, sea and sand safely this summer.
Hazards
Patrols
Never swim or surf alone.
Forecast provided by SwellMap.com
Tides
Safety at Back Beach
We want you to have a great time whilst visiting Back Beach. But take a moment to learn more about being safe on New Zealand Beaches. More ►
Unpatrolled Beach
Never swim or surf alone.
Hazards
Click a safety symbol for more information on the risk
4 simple rules to keep you safe
We want you to have a great time whilst visiting Back Beach. But take a moment to learn more about being safe on New Zealand beaches and looking out for each other. More ►
The Water Safety Code:
- Be prepared
- Watch out for yourself and others
- Be aware of the dangers
- Know your limits
Location
Back Beach is located four kilometres from the central business District of New Plymouth, just to the southwest of the New Plymouth Port. The beach faces directly west and like most of Taranaki’s beaches, is made up of iron sand and scattered with rocks and boulders. There are two parking areas, the upper car park elevated around 20 metres above the beach (a good view of the whole beach, rips, currents, etc can be gained from here) and the lower car park that gives beach users more direct access to the beach. The area directly around the beach is a combination of residential and industrial zones mainly due to the beaches close locality to the port. There are no buildings built directly on the beach.
Public Transport
Beach Water Quality
The Overall Recreation Risk is a guide to give a general picture of water quality at a site. Updated annually, it is calculated from bacteria (enterococci) data collected over the last three years. The Overall Recreation Risk indicator is a precautionary approach to managing health risk and is not designed to represent health risk on a particular day. As such, a site can have an Overall Recreation Risk of ‘Caution’ but still be suitable for swimming some of the time.
Many councils also provide the results of their weekly monitoring. This lets people know what the most recent bacteria levels were. Remember, even sites with low risk can be unsuitable to swim at from time to time and we recommend that you avoid swimming for 48 hours after heavy rainfall.
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