Latest parks and reserves status after wild weather
The state of emergency for Southland, established after the wild weather event on 23 October, was lifted on Friday 7 November.
Many parks and open spaces across Invercargill and Bluff were closed following the weather event. Some of these areas have not yet fully reopened.
We appreciate your patience as our teams work hard to reopen our spaces and facilities as quickly and safely as possible.
Check below for a full list of openings ✅ and closures ⛔.
Keep updated
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If you do visit those areas that are open, please remember to:
- Avoid any closed or locked gates, barriers, and taped-off areas. These are in place for your safety and have been identified by trained specialists as potential hazards.
- If you do notice anything concerning, please contact us immediately on (03) 211 1777.
- Our teams are working towards making firewood available to the community. Please do not put yourself at risk by attempting to collect this yourself. Find out more about the distribution of firewood from our parks and reserves.
Queens Park
See the status of different areas of the park below and on the accompanying map.
- 🔵 Open – Most of Queens Park is now open, including the Animal Reserve, playground, Cheeky Llama Café, Coronation Avenue (Feldwick Gates and Herbert St entrance), the Jessie Calder Rose Garden, golf course (both sides) and the south-eastern corner of the park surrounding the Blind Low Vision NZ building and the Stumpery.
- 🔴 Closed – Isolated sections of the park remain closed on the western side of Coronation Ave and near Kelvin St. Closed areas are cordoned off with barriers/hazard tape.
Please do not access areas of the park that remain closed.
Parks and Reserves
| ✅ OPEN | ⛔ CLOSED |
|---|---|
| Anderson Park Argyle Park, Bluff Ball Street Reserve Bluff Foreshore Reserve Bluff Hill - RSA area Bluff Road Quarry Reserve Donovan Park - some areas remain closed Donovan Park - Crafty's Donovan Park - Nursery Elizabeth Park Elles Rd Dog Park Elston Lea Park Gala St Reserve - some areas remain fenced off Grant Road Reserve Grasmere Domain Gostelow Park (Pump Track) Greenhills Quarry Reserve Inverurie Reserves John Street Reserve JG Ward Reserve McMillan Street Reserve Main Street Reserve, Bluff Mavora Reserves Myers Reserve Myross Bush Domain Northwood Estate Reserves Ocean Beach Reserve Otatara Scenic Reserve Otepuni Gardens Parnell Reserve Paterson Reserve Queens Park - partially open (see above) Sandy Point Domain - Oreti Links, Fosbender Park Seaward Bush Shannon Street Reserve, Bluff Southern Greenway Stirrat Street Reserve Stirling Point Stirling Point Pilot Station Esplanade Reserve Taiepa Dune Reserve Talbot St Reserve Teviot Street Reserve Thomsons Bush Town Belt – Gala Street Reserve Westbank Reserve Woodend Blythe Reserve | Queens Park - isolated areas remain closed. McQuarrie Park Woodend Hall Reserve |
Sports Grounds
| ✅ OPEN | ⛔ CLOSED |
|---|---|
Bain Park | Sandy Point Domain Les George Oval rugby grounds |
Cemeteries
| ✅ OPEN | ⛔ CLOSED |
|---|---|
Eastern Cemetery and Crematorium |
Trails and Walkways
| ✅ OPEN | ⛔ CLOSED |
|---|---|
| Bluff Hill Trails Bowmans Bush Estuary Walkway - Roger Sutton Boardwalk Greenpoint Recreation Reserve Motupōhue Adventure Park Omaui Scenic Reserve Oreti Walkway/Cycleway Otatara Scenic Reserve Otepuni Creek Walkway (Elles Rd to Lindisfarne St to Rockdale Rd) Otepuni Creek Walkway (Town Belt - Clyde St to Elles Rd) Sandy Point Horse Trekking Trails Sandy Point Domain mountain bike trails - partially open (see details below) Sandy Point Sled Dog Trails Seaward Bush tracks Stirling Point Pilot Station Esplanade Reserve Track Taiepa Dune Reserve tracks Thomsons Bush tracks | Donovan Park - some trails remain closed Sandy Point Domain mountain bike trails - partially closed (see details below) |
⚠️ Sandy Point Domain mountain bike trails - current status ⚠️
The Sandy Point Domain mountain bike trails are partially open. Signs and tape are in place indicating trail closures.
See here for the map of open and closed trails, parking areas and access points.
Remaining trees may still present new hazards and risks. If you see anything concerning on an open trail, please report it to parks.recreation@icc.govt.nz or (03) 211 1777.
Update – 11 March, 2026: The Nancy Track is now open. Barriers have been removed, but existing maps may still show the trail as closed.
Playgrounds
| ✅ OPEN | ⛔ CLOSED |
|---|---|
Anderson Park Playground | McQuarrie Park |
Council facilities and services
- ✅ Invercargill Transfer Station is open.
- ✅ Bluff Transfer Station is open.
- ✅ Splash Palace is open.
- ✅ Te Hīnaki Civic Building is open.
- ✅ Bluff Service Centre & Library is open.
- ✅ Civic Theatre is open.
- ✅ Invercargill Public Library is open.
- ✅ Bus services and railway crossings are operating as usual.
Emergency response information
For the latest information and guidance on the emergency response, power outages and welfare support, please refer to Emergency Management Southland, including their Facebook page.
Keep updated
Download Antenno to receive key updates as they happen, direct to your phone, and to report any issues you see in the community directly to Council.
