Do you pay to visit Tokai Forest?

SANParks lists Tokai Picnic & Braai Area as a Table Mountain National Park pay point. Confirm the current Tokai conservation fee on the official TMNP rates page. A Wild Card or TMNP My Green Card covers that picnic pay point. A My Activity permit is still required to walk a dog on allowed forest routes.

Are dogs allowed in Tokai Forest?

Not in the picnic and braai area — SANParks prohibits dogs, alcohol and music there. Dog walking on permitted Tokai forest routes needs a SANParks My Activity permit (Level 1), bought online or at the Tokai Tourist Office (021 712 7471, weekdays).

Is Tokai Forest the same as Newlands Forest?

No. Both are TMNP picnic and braai pay points on Table Mountain’s slopes, with the same picnic-site bans (dogs, alcohol, music). Tokai is reached from Tokai Road in the south; Newlands is off Union Avenue (M3) on the eastern flank. We do not invent kilometre figures for unnamed plantation loops at either forest.

Tokai Forest, Table Mountain

Tokai Forest sits in Table Mountain National Park above the southern suburbs. The thing SANParks publishes as a visitor product is the Tokai picnic and braai area. Forest walking and dog walking happen around it, under separate My Activity rules. We do not invent plantation-loop distances.

Dogs: Not allowed
Parking: Tokai picnic site, Tokai Road. Confirm current parking and gate rules on site.
Phone: 021 712 7471

Full listing · Official SANParks page

Picnic and braai — the official pay point

SANParks names Tokai on the Table Mountain National Park picnic-sites page, alongside Newlands, Silvermine and Oudekraal. Alcohol, dogs and music are prohibited in those picnic braai areas. Braaing is often banned in high wind. Confirm the current Tokai conservation fee on the TMNP rates page. The TMNP My Green Card includes Tokai and Newlands braai and picnic areas among its twelve free pay-point entries. A Wild Card also covers daily conservation fees at those gates.

Official picnic list: Picnic sites — Table Mountain National Park (SANParks).

Dogs, the tourist office, permits

Do not take a dog into the picnic and braai area. Dog walking on permitted Tokai routes needs a My Activity permit (Level 1). SANParks’ TMNP cards-and-permits page lists the Tokai Tourist Office on Tokai Road for Green Cards and activity permits: phone 021 712 7471, weekdays, closed 12:30–13:00. You can also buy My Activity online — see the hiking permits guide.

We do not publish unnamed “Tokai plantation” kilometre loops. If you want a named TMNP walk with published facts, compare Silvermine Nature Reserve and Newlands Forest.

Official pages

Compare picnic spots in Cape Town and hiking trails in Cape Town.

Questions

Do you pay to visit Tokai Forest?: SANParks lists Tokai Picnic & Braai Area as a Table Mountain National Park pay point. Confirm the current Tokai conservation fee on the official TMNP rates page. A Wild Card or TMNP My Green Card covers that picnic pay point. A My Activity permit is still required to walk a dog on allowed forest routes.
Are dogs allowed in Tokai Forest?: Not in the picnic and braai area — SANParks prohibits dogs, alcohol and music there. Dog walking on permitted Tokai forest routes needs a SANParks My Activity permit (Level 1), bought online or at the Tokai Tourist Office (021 712 7471, weekdays).
Is Tokai Forest the same as Newlands Forest?: No. Both are TMNP picnic and braai pay points on Table Mountain’s slopes, with the same picnic-site bans (dogs, alcohol, music). Tokai is reached from Tokai Road in the south; Newlands is off Union Avenue (M3) on the eastern flank. We do not invent kilometre figures for unnamed plantation loops at either forest.