Less than four hours’ drive northwest of Sydney, the town of Orange has so much to offer to its visitors such as cool climate wineries, delicious local produce, vibrant autumn colours, fantastic walking trails & beautiful caves, and much more. This post covers major attractions in the area as well as visiting the Mayfield Garden in Oberon, NSW for Fall Foliage, on your way back to Sydney. It’s Autumn and we knew it’s not fair skipping the Autumn colours! Having said that, the town of Orange itself is a visual feast during the autumn season and is extremely popular for fall foliage, so if you have more time to spend, do stay in Orange for another night or two to visit the northern end of Hill Street, lined with red maples and golden elms, and the Orange Botanic Gardens, for some spectacular sights of Mother Nature during Autumn.
With the itinerary provided below, you will be spending Day 1 and 2 in Orange and will be spending almost the latter half of Day 3 in the Mayfield Garden.
With the itinerary provided below, you will be spending Day 1 and 2 in Orange and will be spending almost the latter half of Day 3 in the Mayfield Garden.
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Day 1
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As said earlier, the drive from Sydney to Orange takes around 4 hours so we wanted to do a rest stop somewhere in between and leverage that break for our lunch as well, so we stopped at The Big Gold Panner in Kelso (West Bathurst).
Australia is home to many big things and the Big Gold Panner is one of them! The Big Things is a set of about 150 oversized structures sprinkled across the nation, which serve as some of the country’s top tourist attractions. These can be found along major highways and between popular destinations. As you could see from our other posts, we are a huge fan of these Big Things as they are not only popular tourist attractions but also are great rest stops when you are on long road trips. Now, back to our Big Gold Panner! Standing more than five meters tall, the Big Gold Panner is so much amusement for the kids and is a great photo opportunity.
After the photo session, we had our home-packed lunch and headed to the Falls Water Falls.
| Central Mines Trail to the Falls Water Falls - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Central Mines Trail Carpark |
| Trail Type | Out and Back |
| Distance | 550m |
| Duration | 8 min |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 28m |
| Difficulty | Grade 2 (steep in sections) |
We parked our car in the Central Mines Trail Carpark and followed the Central Mines Trail for around 550m. The walk from the carpark is on a flat terrain until here. After around 550m, you will see another track on your left leading you to the Summer Hill Creek and the Falls Water Falls; follow this track to access the creek and the waterfall. The waterfall was spectacular to watch and at the bottom of this glorious waterfall, you’ll find a tranquil swimming hole that makes the most perfect place to cool off on a hot summer’s day.
After spending some time in the creek and the waterfall, we headed to the Ophir Reserve Campground.
30 kilometres north east of Orange is the Ophir Reserve where the first Australian payable gold was found and gold rushes began. Something very important to note is that Ophir is not a "museum" and remains much as the diggers left it all those years ago; so, care should be taken around the old open mine shafts as they may be deep and dangerous, especially with kids.
We took the Walking Track No. 1 that has some steep sections and steps. We took around 1.5 hours to finish the loop as the kids wanted to take short breaks in between but the walk through the bush was definitely very pleasant. We were even lucky to spot a couple of Kangaroos during the walk!
| Ophir Reserve Walking Track No. 1 - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Ophir Reserve Campground |
| Trail Type | Loop |
| Distance | 2.77km |
| Duration | 1 - 1.5 hours |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 80m |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 (steep in sections and some steps) |
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We then headed to the town to check in to our hotel for the night. After a short rest break, we walked around the town, had dinner and went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Day 2
After breakfast, we headed to the Federal Falls Campground to take the challenging walk to Federal Falls.
| Federal Falls Walk - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Federal Falls Campground |
| Trail Type | Loop |
| Distance | 4.2km |
| Duration | 2 - 3 hours |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 255m |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 |
It’s a 4km Grade 3 loop track that takes around 2 hours (or 3 hours, if you'd prefer to spend some time relaxing at the falls like we did). Most of the walk is easy, however the last 350m of the walk is a very steep incline down to the falls and should only be attempted by confident walkers. You can start the track at either the northern or southern end of the campground but we recommended you to walk in a clockwise direction starting at the southern end as you’ll be mostly heading downhill on the steeper sections. If you do want an easy return trip to the falls, it’s best to take the northern track and back. Whichever way you choose to hike, trust us you won’t regret the walk but it’s quite strenuous! Sadly, the waterfall was not at its best when we visited but nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed the walk.
Our next stop was The Walls Lookout.
It’s a great spot with stunning views over the Pinnacle lookout, Orange and Lucknow. Nature walking track starts at the Walls lookout and connects to Summits walking track which then leads to Young Man Canobolas, which is one of the 2 peaks in the region. Mount Canobolas Summit precinct was closed when we visited due to redevelopment works so we couldn’t visit Mount Canobolas or Young Man's Mount Canobolas. We have heard that the Summits Walking track that connects Mount Canobolas with Young Man's Mount Canobolas is not to be missed so we will be definitely going back to visit them in future once the precinct is open to visitors. Stay tuned for updates to this post!
We then headed to Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve to explore Arch Caves.
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve is a scenic place that houses some pretty walking tracks and ancient caves to explore. We explored Arch Cave via the easy Arch loop track, a 0.7km Grade 3 walking loop that took around 30 minutes. We also spent some time in the cave exploring it however make sure to get a torch (flashlight) with you as it's quite dark inside. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it!
| Arch Loop Track - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Borenore picnic area​ |
| Trail Type | Loop |
| Distance | 1.0km |
| Duration | 30 min |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 21m |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 |
There are also Veranda Cave and Tunnel Cave in the area to explore if you have more time, but the walking track was closed when we visited. We then headed to the town for dinner and then back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
Day 3
After breakfast, we headed to the Pinnacle Lookout carpark.
Without a doubt, the journey along the Pinnacle walk to Pinnacle lookout is one of the highlights of Orange and not to be missed. It’s a short 0.6km (return) Grade 2 walk and takes around 30 to 45 minutes through World Heritage-listed rainforest before reaching Pinnacle lookout.
| Pinnacle Walk - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Pinnacle Lookout carpark |
| Trail Type | Out and Back |
| Distance | 0.6km |
| Duration | 30 - 45 min |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 56m |
| Difficulty | Grade 2 |
The lookout provides spectacular 360° views of Orange and beyond, all the way up to the coastline.
We then headed to Mayfield Garden in Oberon, NSW.
Mayfield Garden is one of the world’s largest privately owned cool climate gardens. Visitors can explore Australia’s most prominent English Box Hedge Maze, the Mayfield Amphitheatre, 80 metre Cascade and Temple, Family Chapel, Water Garden, Stumpery and even try their hand at rowing on the glassy-calm Mayfield Lake. While the garden is designed to be picturesque in every season and is open to the public 363 days a year (closed on 25 and 26 December), the extraordinary kaleidoscope of Autumnal colours that the garden displays makes the Autumn season the most memorable time of the year to visit. Details on timing and prices can be found in their office website here.
After thoroughly enjoying the fall foliage in the garden, we headed back to Sydney. Welcome back home!
Note: Orange also has some great wineries so check them out if you have time. Also, here are some other famous attractions in the area if you have got more time in the town:
Note: Orange also has some great wineries so check them out if you have time. Also, here are some other famous attractions in the area if you have got more time in the town:
- Lake Canobolas
- Orange Botanic Gardens
- Orange Regional Gallery
- Orange Regional Museum
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