The name of the hill and the walkway comes from the reports of a large tree that fell near the top of the hill. The fallen tree was said to look like a cannon when viewed from below. The area was part of Valley View Station, and the steep zig-zag track to the summit was originally cut by the farm owners for access on foot and horseback.[3]
The road ends are at Bridge Road, Birchville and Tulsa Reserve in Tōtara Park. The route from Bridge Road follows the path of a former water supply pipeline upstream along Clarke's Creek to the historic Birchville Dam. From the dam there is a steep ascent to the ridgeline and then along to the Cannon Point trig at Шаблон:Convert elevation. From the trig there are panoramic views of the Hutt Valley. The loop is completed by a walk along the banks of the Hutt River between the two road ends.[4]
On Sunday 9 October 1932, a "mystery" railway excursion to Upper Hutt attracted 800 people, many of whom took the opportunity to complete a hike of around Шаблон:Convert from the Akatarawa picnic grounds to the lookout at Cannon Point.[5]
A Шаблон:Convert zig-zag portion of the track from Tulsa Park up to the Cannon Point trig crosses private land, and was closed by the landowner in December 2017 after a dispute between the landowner and the Upper Hutt City Council.[6] Access was restored in August 2018.[7][8]
A new bridge at the Birchville end of the track was opened in October 2022.[9]
