Is Orange, NSW worth a visit?

Orange, NSW is home to countless 5 star wineries, a thriving food scene and picturesque country scenery you would think you’ve fallen into a painting! With hundreds of historical sites, wine trails, dining experiences and natural wonders to choose from it can be hard to know where to begin when planning your visit to the Orange NSW region. So is Orange, NSW worth a visit? Well, you can be the judge of that with my top hot picks on where to eat, drink, play, and more in Orange, NSW.

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Visiting Orange, NSW was our first trip in our brand new caravan! We stayed for 3 nights at the Canobolas Caravan Park which was located a few minutes drive to the town centre and was centralised to the wineries, restaurants and other parts of the town to explore. Depending on how much you want to explore, 3 nights in Orange can be long enough to enjoy what this beautiful regional town has to offer which makes it a great weekend getaway from Sydney. The city of Orange, NSW is known for its excellent local produce, its impressive vineyards and its fine dining restaurants. It is also known for its impressive autumn colours and its magical cold winters.

How to get to Orange, NSW-

Plane – The Sydney to Orange flight takes 45 minutes.
Train – Departs every day from Sydney Central Station and takes around 4.5 – 5 hours.
Bus – ‘Australia Wide Coaches’ luxury coach service is available Sydney to Orange and return.
Car – An easy 3.5 hour drive from Sydney or Canberra, my preferred option as you have the freedom to go wherever you like easily.

When is the best time to visit Orange, NSW?

Orange is known as ‘Australia’s Colour City’ due to its vibrant autumn colours, making late March and April amongst the best time to visit Orange to see the impressive autumn colours. This is the time we chose to visit and the beautiful autumn yellows, oranges and reds made the scenery extra special for our visit. The great thing about Orange though is that it’s a great place to visit any time of the year!

A beautiful street in Orange, NSW - colourful autumn colours

Tips for Travelling in Orange

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What is there to do in Orange, NSW?

Go on a Wine Tasting Experience

First and foremost, you will not be disappointed by the incredible wine produced in the Orange region! The wine produced in this region alone make Orange NSW worth a visit. If you are a wine lover, especially the whites, Orange should 100% be on the top of your list for your next holiday. Tucked among rolling, vine-covered hills, outback paddocks and winding country lanes the Orange NSW wine country is home to more than 60 vineyards and 40 cellar doors.

Visit countless 5 star wineries. Find beautifully restored historic buildings, gaze upon the picturesque Mt Canobolas in the distance or take the children along to discover a delightful petting zoo as you taste wines. Have a local winemaker give you a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on behind cellar doors. Say yes to all platters and indulge in local produce with your wine tastings!

I visited 5 wineries on my trip to Orange, NSW and I listed them below starting with my top 2 favourites:

1. Ross Hill Wines |

Ross Hill Wines is proud to be Australia’s first National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) certified winery and the only Australian producer of carbon neutral wines. That said, their wines were by far one of my favourite and they have friendly and approachable staff that were more than happy to answer all of our questions. On our visit we included a $15 food flight where they paired 7 different types of local produce to their wine. I highly recommend adding this to your wine tasting experience as the food has a good way of bringing out the flavours in the different types of wine, thus making it a much more enjoyable experience.

Cost: $10 pp for a wine tasting, $15 pp for the food flight and if you book your wine tasting in the morning they also offer a complimentary tour of their NCOS certified carbon neutral winery at 10am each morning.

2. Swinging Bridge |

This winery produces by far the best Pinot Gris we have had the pleasure of coming across. The views here are to die for with sweeping views over the countryside and Mt Canobolas standing proud in the distance. Swinging Bridge also provide an optional platter to compliment their wine tasting which is prepared by their in house chef. This winery was our top pick, our favourite being the Pinot Gris and we ended up buying 4 bottles!! We also thoroughly enjoyed the dip and cheese here too.

Cost: $10pp for a standard tasting (5 wines) $20pp for a premium tasting (8 wines) and $15pp to add the tasting platter. We chose the premium tasting with the tasting platter.

3. Nashdale Lane |

Admittedly our experience at the next 2 wineries were not as great as the first two, however I put this down to pretty much the limited selection of wine they had leftover to sample. Our visit to Nashdale Lane left a lot to the imagination as their best selling wines were sold out. (It would have been nice to know beforehand). Surely this must mean that it would had to have been pretty good wine right? The highlight for me was having our tasting inside the beautiful rustic barn with a backdrop of Mt Canobolas in the distance. Keep an eye out for the resident sheep that graze among the vineyards!

Cost: $10pp for a standard tasting

4. Phillip Shaw Wines |

Phillip Shaw Wines is a popular and well-known winery. This is the winery to visit if you are looking for more of an upscale and elegant experience. It was our unfortunate luck that this was the second winery we visited that had very limited stock available so our wine tasting experience was again lacking. They informed us that their vineyards were badly affected by the smoke from the recent bushfires and they had to throw out pretty much their entire years worth of grapes which in turn meant they weren’t able to produce their usual amount of wine, affecting mainly the white variety. It was really sad to hear how bushfires and other natural events can cause such an impact to regional businesses.

Cost: $10pp for a standard tasting, $20pp for a tasting and platter

5. Borrodell Estate |

I have mixed emotions talking about Borrodell Estate. We visited in the evening for dinner at their restaurant Sisters Rock. Our first impression as we drove up the winding driveway to the estate was jaw dropping “Wow!!” The views (from what we could see at night) were incredible. The estate was beautiful with the vivid autumn colours surrounding the property and in the distance you could see the glittering lights of the city of Orange. I would 100% recommend coming here during the day, and who knows maybe their wine tasting experience is good too? Howver, the dinner left us feeling really disappointed, especially since it’s meant to be award winning. That said, the staff were extremely polite and apologetic and to give them a benefit of a doubt they could have been just having an ‘off’ night but unfortunately we wouldn’t visit again.

Cost: 3 course dinner $80pp, 4 courses $95pp

Some other favourites recommended by the locals:

Heifer Station Wines- Heifer Station’s cellar door is particular great if you have kids (or if you’re a big kid at heart). They have a petting zoo onsite with lots of animals including pigs, goats and alpacas.
Rowlee Wines- Rowlee Cellar Door is nestled amongst the vines on the verdant foothills of Mt Canobolas, 950 metres above sea level – exposed to the cool climate and unique topography of the Orange Wine Region.
Orange Mountain Wines- Even though you still have to book prior to visiting Orange Mountain Wine, there is no booking fee to try a selection of their delicious tasting wines.

Not sure what to pack? See my Packing List for more tips!

Where to Eat in Orange, NSW

One thing’s for sure, you will NOT go hungry in Orange. This regional town packs such a gourmet punch that you can take your pick from a variety of cute cafes, high-end eateries, delicious winery lunches and quality pub meals. Here are some of the top favourites among the locals of Orange:

Parkview Hotel– traditional aussie pub with your typical aussie pub meals
Charred– one of the most popular and high in demand restaurants, Charred offers a relaxed fine dining experience (we couldn’t even get a booking so make sure you book in advance!)
The Agrestic Grocer– charmingly rustic space that doubles as a café and a store filled with gourmet delicacies like freshly made pickles, relishes and jams
Cured Orange – Hand Crafted Artisan Meats– Cured Orange is the Central West’s authentic taste European charcuterie with an extensive range that complements this outstanding food and wine region
Lolli Redini– another popular restaurant in Orange. Established in 2001 it’s won numerous Chef Hats and is known for its contemporary Italian and French-influenced food using mostly local produce and other specially sourced items.

Shop ’til you drop!

There are lots of great boutique fashion and homewares stores to discover in Orange. The Sonic is a must if you’re after beautiful, unique homewares and clothing. Angus Barrett Saddlery & Leather Goods has some amazing hand-crafted leather goods such as belts and bags. Hawkes General Store also have a great selection of clothes, shoes and accessories and they also sell kids clothes too. For a real taste of local produce, time your trip to coincide with the Orange Farmers Markets. Held on the second Saturday of the month, they strictly feature Orange produce, from hazelnuts to homemade donuts. Yet another shop that looks like it belongs in a magazine, you’ll be inspired to spruce up your own space by the gorgeous decor and designer goods that The White Place has on offer.

Visit the Mayfield Garden

Mayfield Garden definitely tops the list on reasons why Orange NSW is worth a visit. You won’t believe the beauty and scale of this garden until you’ve visited! The kaleidoscope of colours throughout the gardens amazed us and we were constantly stopping at different areas, mouths open in awe. The Mayfield Garden is like nirvana for the social media enthusiast, providing endless opportunities for the ‘perfect’ Insta shot. You will walk through areas of blooming flowers, cascading waterfalls, garden ponds, bridges and there’s even an English Box Hedge Maze- one of the largest in Australia! Check us out on our Insta stories as we get lost in the maze!

English Box Hedge Maze in the Mayfield Garden

Mayfield is made up of two main garden areas, Mayfield Garden and the Hawkins’ Family Garden – together they make up the spectacular, world-class 65-hectare cool climate garden. Mayfield Garden covers 16 hectares and the Hawkins’ Family Garden is an additional 49 hectares. Mayfield Garden has been specially designed to open year-round as a tourist destination (only closed 25 & 26 December) whereas the whole Hawkins’ Family Garden is open to visitors during four seasonal festivals, which we visited during their Autumn festival.

Getting here: Mayfield is located about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Sydney, 1 hour and 15 minutes from Orange or 40 minutes from Bathurst and 10 minutes from Oberon. There are large billboards at every major approach.
Opening hours: Open 9.00am, last entry into the garden is 3.00pm, garden centre closes at 4.30pm.
Cost: Prices start from $22 for an adult

Explore the Great Outdoors

If you’re looking for some adventure, fresh air and great walking trails to work off all that food and wine, Orange NSW has a surprisingly diverse range of outdoor activities:

Federal Falls- About a 25 minute drive out of town, park at Federal Falls Campground. Embarking on the pretty challenging four kilometre loop to the falls and back is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the great outdoors (and balance out all the eating and drinking If you’re there after the rain, you’ll be in for a pretty sight.
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve- Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve is a scenic place to picnic near Orange. After a barbecue lunch, explore the reserve’s walking tracks and ancient caves. The ancient limestone caves are the feature attraction at Borenore, and there are several that are open to explore. The most popular is Arch Cave, and it’s a good idea to bring a torch so you can see the stalactites, stalagmites, columns and flowstones inside.
Pinnacle Lookout- The view from Towac Pinnacle lookout at sunrise or sunset is well worth the walk. Set amongst the tall shady gum trees on the southern side of Pinnacle Road, the reserve features picnic shelters, toilets and barbeques constructed from bluestone.

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So, what’s the verdict? Do you think Orange NSW is worth a visit based on the above?

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As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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1 Comment

The Best Things to do in Orange, NSW | Mia's Travel Memoirssays:
May 13, 2021 at 1:39 pm

[…] As for wineries to visit, the choice is huge, and just a few of the more renowned are Ross Hill, Swinging Bridge, Heifer Station, Rowlee and Nashdale Lane, all within a short drive of the city. More details on the wineries we visited are in this post- Is Orange, NSW worth a visit? […]

How to get to Orange, NSW-

When is the best time to visit Orange, NSW?

Tips for Travelling in Orange