Pureora Forest Park, Forest park in the North Island, New Zealand

Pureora Forest Park is a large protected forest area on the North Island featuring dense native rainforest and towering podocarp trees that dominate the canopy. The park includes numerous hiking trails, camping facilities, and a viewing tower for exploring the environment.

In the late 1970s, activists Stephen King and Shirley Guildford led anti-logging protests in the area, erecting platforms in treetops and sitting on them. Their campaign led to the park's establishment in 1978 and to rule changes that ended logging. The Native Forest Restoration Trust was formed, and a restored grove was named for Guildford in 1988.

The forest holds deep meaning for Māori communities who maintain ancestral ties to specific locations throughout the protected area. These connections shape how local people experience and interact with the forest today.

Access is from State Highway 32 west of Lake Taupō, and the Forest Tower stands about ten minutes on foot from the Bismarck Road car park. The Maramataha River is impassable in high water, so check conditions before crossing. Mountain bikers use the Timber Trail, opened in 2013, and hunters have come for the park's hunting competition since 1987.

A buried forest discovered in 1983 contains tree trunks arranged in rows, preserved from a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. These remains offer a window into the dramatic geological events that shaped this land.