Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines
Recreation Aotearoa and the Outdoors Accessibility Working Group have collaborated with industry and accessibility experts to develop the guidelines. The working group includes disabled people with expertise in access and extensive experience in outdoor recreation.
The guidelines provide detailed, practical advice for improving accessibility in outdoor recreation spaces such as beaches, lakes, and green open spaces, with a strong focus on trails.
They are intended for anyone involved in planning, developing, designing, managing, or maintaining outdoor recreation spaces, as well as people advocating for accessibility in outdoor spaces.
This page will be updated with alternative formats as they become available.
Full guidelines
Please find a link to the Guidelines on Dropbox:
Outdoors Accessibility Guidelines - book view (PDF)
Outdoors Accessibility Guidelines - single page view (PDF)
Outdoors Accessibility Guidelines - single page view (Word)
Chapters
Please find a link to individual chapters on Dropbox. We recommend you start with Chapter 1 - Introduction & Context first.
Contents
Contents - single page view (PDF)
Chapter 1 - Introduction & Context
Chapter 1 - Introduction & Context - book view (PDF)
Chapter 1 - Introduction & Context - single page view (PDF)
Chapter 2 - Planning, Processes & Consultation
Chapter 2 - Planning, Processes & Consultation - book view (PDF)
Chapter 2 - Planning, Processes & Consultation - single page view (PDF)
Chapter 3 - Inclusive Trails
Chapter 3 - Inclusive Trails - book view (PDF)
Chapter 3 - Inclusive Trails - single page view (PDF)
Chapter 4 - Facilities & Amenities
Chapter 4 - Facilities & Amenities - book view (PDF)
Chapter 4 - Facilities & Amenities - single page view (PDF)
Chapter 5 - Water-based Outdoor Recreation
Chapter 5 - Water-based Outdoor Recreation - book view (PDF)
Chapter 5 - Water-based Outdoor Recreation - single page view (PDF)
Alternate format summaries
Easy Read summary
Please find an Easy Read summary on Dropbox:
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - Easy Read summary (PDF)
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - Easy Read summary (Word)
New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) summary
Please find a link to watch a NZSL summary on Vimeo:
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - NZSL summary (Vimeo)
Large Print summary
Please find a Large Print summary on Dropbox:
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - Large Print summary (Word)
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - Large Print (PDF)
Audio summary
Please find a link to listen to an audio summary on Sharepoint:
Outdoors Accessibility Design Guidelines - Audio summary (Sharepoint)