Te Aroha was an important sporting centre as well. Two new asphalt tennis courts were provided in 1908. Bowling and croquet tournaments were often held in the Domain with teams coming from the top half of the North Island.

The township complemented the Domain with a variety of licensed hotels and private hotels. At the peak of its popularity there were five hotels and eight boarding houses.

The Domain was a popular picnic spot and school parties regularly came on special excursion trains. There were walks along the river to the waterfall behind the Domain, to the glow-worms in an old mining tunnel behind the Domain, to Bald-Spur and to a defensive pa south of the waterfall. Te Aroha was an especially popular destination for day-trippers on public holidays. On New Years Day 1912, 7,000 visitors arrived in Te Aroha for the day. Many of these arrived on special excursion trains from Auckland, which took five hours each way.

The decline in popularity of the Domain was gradual. With the construction of a new railway, Rotorua soon took over from Te Aroha as the pre-eminent Spa. Advances in medical science saw a discrediting and loss of faith in ‘scientific baleanology’, and changing fashions saw the concept of the fashionable spa fall out of favour. People still continued to use the baths, with more emphasis on casual enjoyment than the more formal ‘taking of the waters’. The Tea Kiosk closed in 1923 because it was losing money. In 1928 a new tepid swimming bath was opened when mixed bathing was introduced, but the No. 4 and No. 6 Bath Houses were closed around the same time.

Troops stationed near Te Aroha during the Second World War saw a brief revival in the fortunes of the pools, but the long-term decline continued.

In 1953 the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts offered the Domain to the Te Aroha Borough Council as a gift together with a subsidy for a period of years, but the offer was declined. The decline in use of the Domain facilities provided opportunity for new functions to operate. A skating rink was built over the old asphalt tennis court in 1956. The Museum took over the Cadman Bath House after the Bowling Club occupied it. The gardener's cottage, now a cafe, was then used by the Department of Conservation (DOC) as their office and Information Centre.