The popularity of Fiordland's Lake2Lake and Upukerora Loop cycle trails continues to grow with numbers almost doubling since 2023, according to the Fiordland Trails Trust.

Since 2017 the Trust has been able to accurately track user numbers with the aid of installed electronic counters.

In 2024 total usage jumped over 70% to 186,514, from the 2023 total of 109,310.

The sections closest to the Te Anau township continue to be the most popular with the trail's Wildlife Park and Tui Bay sections recording annual counts of 66,450 and 51,970 users respectively.

The Trust's new Upukerora Loop trail, which officially opened in August 2024, has also seen a 50% increase in usage with 23,304 users recorded in 2024.

In February this year work began on the next section of this trail with a 2km track being formed from Patience Bay to Sinclair Road.

The Trust hopes to eventually complete 11 further kilometres and take the trail all the way to Boundary Creek.

Bike Fiordland owner Greg Robertson said he had seen a doubling in the numbers of people riding bikes this summer.

Robertson said 90% of his customers were tourists and about a third had already heard about the Lake2Lake Trail.

The rest just want to view the town from a different perspective, he said.

While e-bikes had been wonderful for the older generation - because they can go further - Roberston said there were still those who preferred conventional bikes.

"The purists don't like e-bikes. They think it's cheating."