A local’s guide to Mountain Bike Riding on the Coffs Coast.
Local mountain biker and member of Woolgoolga Mountain Bike Club, Kiri Biggs has been riding the local trails for over 5 years. After living away from the region for a few years, it was the natural beauty of the Coffs Coast that brought Kiri and her family back to Woolgoolga. The perfect backdrop of mountains and state forests to the coastline means that you can live by the beach and enjoy world-class mountain bike trails on your doorstep.
Coffs Coast State Forest Trails
Weddings Bells State Forest in Woolgoolga is currently home to 11 mountain bike trails of differing levels of difficulty. Similar to skiing, the trails are colour-graded to enable riders to select trails based on their own ability. With names such as Swamp Thing, Bangers & Mash, Dirt Serpent and Superbowl, there are lots of exciting trails to choose from.
One of these, Up ‘N At ‘Em is a fully adaptive trail suitable for riders of adapted mountain bikes, which local fellow rider and Woolgoolga Mountain Bike Club member Hank Duchateau uses to train, and has helped him to win Gold at the recent Auscycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships.
With a new trail underway and a new skills park to enable beginners to build and learn new skills coming soon, there is so much to explore. For more information, visit Wedding Bells State Forest Trails.
Further south on the Coffs Coast, there are trails in Pine Creek State Forest and in the hinterland around Coramba. Cows With Guns offers 14km of mountain bike trails, with 20+ trails, most of which are two-directional, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for oncoming riders. This is a great introductory track hugging the banks of Pine Creek. One lap can range from 40 to 80 minutes, and with some creativity you can easily spend a day here.
Also in Pine Creek State Forest is The Sawmill MTB Park. This park features more advanced trail attributes, including log rides and raised ramps. To note, motorbike trails crisscross the park, so it’s recommended to go with an experienced rider familiar with the trails.
Lastly, Mount Coramba Downhill is one of Australia’s most renowned trails, known for its amazing build quality and attention to detail. A pure downhill trail built and managed purely for the advanced gravity rider, this exciting trail contains an abundance of features, including jumps, drops and challenging natural obstacles. The Woolgoolga Mountain Bike Club uses this location for many of their downhill and enduro races.
Keen to get on a mountain bike
Trails are easily accessed via the state forests and can be found on the Trailforks app. Although a 4WD is not required, it can be recommended if you plan on driving in wet conditions. If you don’t yet have an off-road bike, there are many great specialist cycle shops throughout the region, including Woodseys Wheels in Woolgoolga and Bob Wallis Cycles, Rainbow Cycles and Ventoux Cycles in Coffs Harbour.
Where You’ll Find Kiri
Kiri is most likely to be found riding the trails in Wedding Bells State Forest, helping craft new trails and supporting the club with upcoming event days. Woolgoolga Mountain Biking Club plays host to many race events and social rides throughout the year, including hosting their own Mountain Bike Festival every August. Look out for open days coming soon, or get in touch with the club to find out more.
When not out on her bike exploring trails, Kiri can be found paddleboarding at Moonee Creek or exploring the cliffs and waterfalls in Sherwood Creek Forest. To find out more or join Kiri on a ride, visit Woolgoolga Mountain Bike Club.
MEET MORE LOCALS
