A Pike River widow has slammed the Government's new Pike 29 Memorial Track as a distraction from what the families really want.

A new New Zealand Great Walk was announced this morning for Paparoa National Park on the West Coast.

It includes a nine kilometre section to honour the men who died in the 2010 mine explosion.

Environment Minister Nick Smith met with the Pike families to show them plans for the track this morning.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died in the mine, said the families need the Government to focus on getting into the mine shaft, not the walk. She said the walk is simply a distraction.

"It's not what I want and it's not what the majority of the families want either," she said.

"It wasn't our purpose. Our whole purpose was to get into the drift and recover the evidence and what we could of our loved one's remains. Until that happens, I just can't warm to the idea."

Osborne said the Government needs to focus on honouring Bill English's statements last month. Solid Energy was ordered to investigate potential technologies after the families met with the Prime Minister at Parliament.

They were promised the mine would not be sealed while that happens.

Nick Smith today shared with the families an outline of that plan.

"The families are going to come back to me within a week with their comments on the the terms of reference," he said. "I'm sure that we can then get on and do the work with Solid Energy."