Cows With Guns is situated in Pine Creek State Forest, a short drive south of Coffs Harbour, near Bonville.
There are approximately 14km of trails in Cows With Guns with most trails being two-directional, so keep your heads up for oncoming riders.
There is a map at the trailhead showing the popular trails, all of which start and finish at the car park. This is a great introductory track which offers basically flat, flowing single and double track hugging the banks of Pine Creek. The faster you go the harder it gets.
Pine Creek State Forest is home to the two official bike parks on the Coffs Coast. ‘Cows’ is on the south side of Pine Creek and is the venue for most of the Coffs Harbour mountain bike club events.
Whilst the area is generally flat there is enough undulation in the track to create some good flow and clever track building has enhanced every metre.
The riding is typical of this area with minimal rocks but lots of roots and loamy soil. Apart from a few boundary forest roads, the area is entirely made up of hand built single track and various man-made features.
Sidewinder Trail is a classic example of this work featuring a downhill berm run with some pump rollers and tabletops in between. The trails follow the edge of the creek and weaves through tight forest. It gives you the sensation that you are traveling a lot faster than you actually are.
Zarzoff through to Creek Trail twists and turns and absorbs you in the moment. If you are after some real local flavour, check out ‘Back of Bourke’ Trail. Here you will know you’re in the subtropics as the canopy closes in and the dark soil is interrupted by a frenzy of roots and tight tree lines.
There are some great trails in this zone and the forest can become so thick you feel like you could get lost. However, they all spill you out onto a major intersection so navigation is not a problem. Whilst the main loop is 14km you can easily double this by running loops in both directions and creating your own mix of trails.
Cows with Guns is maintained by volunteers from the Coffs Coast Mountain Biking club and is for cyclists only. For more information and to get involved please visit the club’s website here: COFFSCOASTMTB.COM.AU
