Bottle Lake Forest Park is situated approximately 10km north-east of central Christchurch, adjacent to the coast. It is a production forest and trees are felled and logged in a 30 year rotation by Raynoier/Matariki Forests. Operational logging areas are usually clearly signposted and marked 'out of bounds'.
The visitor centre, located at the Waitikiri Drive entrance, has map boards and brochures with details of the tracks and trails which include mountain-bike tracks, horse-trekking trails and walking tracks. Tracks include long and short options to suit all ages and levels of fitness.
Developed from a farm in the early 1900s the forest expanded from coastal protection plantings to its present size. It is planted with mostly Pinus radiata and covers over 800 hectares of coastal sand dunes. The combined area of these forests is four times the size of Hagley Park and as such forms an important asset to metropolitan Christchurch.