Hiking Participation AusPlay results to June 2023

HikeWest’s review of the latest AusPlay data, released by the Australian Sports Commission, reveals that approximately 211,000 adults participated in bushwalking in Western Australia during 2022–23, a significant 41.6% increase from the previous year, when 149,000 adults went bushwalking in the state.  

Over the past 8 years, adult participation in bushwalking nationally has more than doubled, rising from 4% to 10%. Female participation in Western Australia continues to grow more rapidly than male participation, with 67.3% female to 32.7% male participation, more than the national ratio of 59.1% female to 40.8% male participation 

Bibbulmun Track Hikers 

• It is hard to know how many walks are taken on the Track each year.  Our last official survey in 2015 estimated just over 300,000 visit days per annum.  This could be anything from a 1-hour stroll to a full day.  One person doing an end-to-end would spend 40 to 50 full days on the Track.  
• 7 out of 10 people enjoy day walks – from a short stroll to a full day.  
• One source of data is entries in the logbook at each of the 49 campsites.  However, many day walks don’t involve visiting a campsite, and we know from previous surveys that the majority of day walkers don’t sign the log books.  Therefore, these charts are more indicative of the growth in the number of people who are undertaking longer walks and staying overnight on the Bibbulmun Track.   
• A very conservative estimate is that, since 2015, use of the Bibbulmun Track has tripled. 

Note: Gaps/major anomalies in data are due to campsite log books being lost due to bushfire or vandalism.