Why go hiking, kayaking or cycling with Coffs Hikers?
The physical benefits of hiking include heart health, stronger bones and muscles, improved balance and agility, and a good nights sleep! Mentally, hiking is a great way to make friends, to reduce stress, and improve resilience.
Exercise in nature offers so much more than a gym. The green of nature is an antidote against the attention overload and constant distractions of modern life. Lack of mobile coverage can be a good thing.
If you are looking for a local group to make new friends and take you to new places, come and join Coffs Hikers.
Our values
We believe hiking is good for everyone. Coffs Hikers is a welcoming club offering bushwalking, kayaking and cycling for a range of experience and fitness levels. Our volunteer leaders make it possible for us all to enjoy exploring the natural world together.
We take responsibility for ourselves and each other. Members are expected to be prepared, self-reliant and mindful of safety. Coffs Hikers are affiliated with Bushwalking NSW and Bicycle NSW providing insurance for our leaders.
We care deeply for the environment. We follow the Bushwalkers Code and Leave No Trace principles. We value opportunities to learn about, respect and protect the places we love.
We strengthen healthy communities. We acknowledge the First Nations and Country. We support new walkers, thank our volunteer leaders, share our skills to help Coffs Hikers thrive, and build positive connections with other hiking groups.
We are curious and open to new ideas.Exploring new places excites us. We embrace innovation and technology to enhance our adventures, share knowledge, and make it easier for members to get involved and lead.
Caring for Country and conservation on the Coffs Coast
Ulitarra is the all powerful Aboriginal guiding spirit who created the Gumbaynggirr nation who live between the Nambucca and Clarence Rivers. Abusing the environment invokes the wrath of Ulitarra. The Gumbaynggirr mob have been walking this land and caring for country for thousands of years and we pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
In 1971, the Ulitarra Conservation Society (affiliated with the Nature Conservation Council) was founded to educate and advocate for conservation of the environment. One of their many achievements was the preservation of the forest that became Ulidarra National Park.
Alex Floyd OAM was a member of Ulitarra Conservation Society, and came up with the concept for the botanic garden after he and a fellow member paddled down Coffs Creek. Their visionary plan was accepted, and the Botanic Gardens reserve was gazetted in 1975.
The Society was an influential voice involved in the creation of Bongil Bongil National Park, Solitary Island Marine Park, Coramba Nature Reserve. They planted koala feed trees in Toormina, and formed the Jetty Dunecare group where volunteers worked on restoring the degraded and weed infested Jetty foreshores. They helped establish Coffs Harbour landcare group in 1998 and were active in Indian Myna bird trapping.
Members of the Ulitarra Conservation Society began bushwalking together in 1980, exploring local parks and wilderness on a diverse range of walks and campouts. In the 1990s they published Making Tracks, a guide to walks in the Coffs Harbour area and beyond. The Ulitarra Conservation Society closed in 2021, their 50th year, donating their remaining funds to the Botanic Gardens.
We are fortunate to be able to tap into the extensive walking experience and environmental knowledge of some of the longtime members of Ulitarra Conservation Society.
We continue the long tradition of exploring in the footsteps of those who have walked this land before us.