A new community group, the Kurow trails committee, has carried old armchairs to five points on the climb to provide rest stations for walkers and runners.
They will be there all summer, taken away in winter and replaced again next year.
Relatively short but steep, it takes about 45 minutes to reach the summit of the hill with leisurely stops, but spectacular views over Kurow to the Waitaki River mouth and sea and inland through the Hakataramea Valley makes it worth the effort.
Committee member Karen Tweed said the track was a community project built in 1989 with funding from the Government.
It had had its ups and downs over the years in terms of maintenance, but had now been taken on by the committee which had cleared vegetation, was removing loose material to provide a better footing and putting in the rest stops.
The committee came up with the idea of buying or scrounging old lounge chairs, which members had carried up the hill.
The only seats missing so far are at the summit, about 600m above sea level.
Others could be added at different stages or more seats placed at the rest stops already chosen, depending on feedback, she said.
''It provides something different for visitors to sit on and we hope it becomes a challenge for locals and exercise.
"They can aim for the red chair [the first stop] and then from there upwards to the next,'' she said.
Operating under the umbrella of the Waitaki Valley Community Society, a charitable trust for grants and donations, the committee is investigating possibilities for other walking and cycling tracks in the Kurow area including one along the Waitaki River.
While for both locals and visitors, it was very aware of the increasing numbers using the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail and the need for attractions and activities to encourage them to spend time in Kurow.
