Grade 3 Trails are the most popular and prolific type of trail in the Whakarewarewa Forest. Once you can master a Grade 3 Trail, you can stitch together routes that cover the whole forest and can take you to some stunning places and on all-day rides.

So what can you expect on a Grade 3 Trail? 

"Intermediate Skills needed, some steep slopes"

There could be rooty sections, and there could be places where care is needed to avoid trail features like jumps and drop-offs, but on those sorts of things on a Grade 3 trail there will be way around the feature on an easier line, or the feature will be 'rollable' if you tackle it carefully. 

Generally, you won't want to go looking for Grade 3 trails on your first mountain bike ride, and you certainly don't want to take somebody else on Grade 3 on their first ride. They are not for beginners.