SDC services and assets group manager Ian Marshall said consents have been lodged and publicly notified for a 30km section of the second stage, near the upper Oreti River and Centre Hill Rd, which was declined consent following a hearing in 2012 amid concerns about river works and subsequent effects.
Mr Marshall said the council had heeded those concerns and worked ''to find another way forward''.
''There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of time and effort gone into studying the alternatives so we can put a very thorough application together.''
Two significant changes were a new lower, longer bridge over a section of the Oreti River, rather than the suspension bridge originally proposed, and changes to the path the trail would take, moving it away from the river.
Proposed groynes on the river had been removed.
Mr Marshall said the council had consulted stakeholders, including Fish and Game, which raised concerns about the earlier proposal, but it and the public would now be able to view the application and make submissions.
Submissions will close on November 4, with a hearing likely in December.
It was hoped a decision would be made by the end of the year.
In total the second stage will cover 86km from Walter Peak to Mossburn and work on consented sections is due to begin next month.
Meanwhile, the first stage of the Around the Mountains Trail, from Kingston to Mossburn, will be officially opened by deputy prime minister Bill English at the Lumsden Railway Station on November 1.
