A 4-day itinerary driving the Riverina’s Canola Trail

Morning 

While the focus of your canola road trip will be in the Riverina, it begins in NSW’s Cowra and Hilltops regions. While you’ll want to stop at every bend in the road, please pull over with care to not put yourself (or others) in danger, and always remain aware of your surroundings. Also, as tempting as it is to wander through the fields, remember that they are working farms and private property, so you may be trespassing or damaging crops.  

Make your first stop the Cowra Visitor Information Centre, which is the departure point for several interesting tours during flower season. The Fields of Gold experience begins with a guided tour of some of Cowra’s top spots for photographing canola and ends back at the Visitor Centre with a tasting of local wines. The Scenic Canola Flights, meanwhile, offer a bird’s-eye view of the golden fields for between 30 and 90 minutes. And the Spring Wine Tour & BBQ takes you to two local wineries where you get to meet the makers, followed by a barbecue with canola views. 

Scenic country in Cowra

Afternoon  

The Visitor Centre also doubles as a cellar door, showcasing more than 45 wines from the region, available to taste and purchase, as well as a range of local produce. Stock up for dinner tonight. The team can recommend a wine tour, if you want to take your explorations further.  

Alternatively, enjoy a meal at The Quarry, the only fine-dining restaurant in Cowra, set among the vineyards just outside of town. It’s the perfect entrée for your short drive to Young, in the heart of the Hilltops region.  

Grove Estate Wines

Evening 

There are plenty of farmstays and charming cottages in and around Young, including the beautifully renovated Old Brick Pub, occupying an 1874 building opposite the Lambing Flat Gold diggings. There’s a fully equipped kitchen, two king beds and a fireplace where you can get cosy with a bottle of wine and the gourmet goodies you picked up earlier in Cowra. If you want to eat out, try The Cranfield, which offers a set menu heroing local produce.   

The Cranfield - Credit: Hilltops Council

Morning 

Fuel up for today’s drive at much-loved institution, Wilders Bakery – it’s been operating since 1950 and the signature attraction is its award-winning cherry pie. For coffee worthy of a Melbourne laneway, make a beeline to Art of Espresso.  

Art of Espresso - Credit: Hilltops Council

From Young, set your GPS for Freeman Vineyards, along the route to the twin towns of Harden Murrumburrah. This boutique winery boasts Australia’s only plantings of two northern Italian grape varieties: rondinella and corvina. The rest of the portfolio also nods to Italy. Visit the cellar door to sip a fiano or sangiovese.  

Prepare for larger-than-life art when you arrive in Harden Murrumburrah. The towns’ 1865 flour mills have been transformed with eye-popping silo art murals by Melbourne-based Mongolian street artist Heesco Khosnaran, who captures the region’s history in his colourful works. 

Murrumburrah Silo Art - Credit: Brent Randall | Hilltops Council

Back in town, sit down to lunch at The Muddy Duck. This always-busy establishment is more than just a café – it also sells quirky homewares, garden pots and nursery items. Another place to pick up a local souvenir is Harden’s House of Honey, which produces one of the most extensive ranges of pure honey in Australia. Take away a jar, or a hunk of honeycomb, beeswax candles and handmade soaps. 

Afternoon 

It’s a short drive from Harden Murrumburrah through golden canola fields to Temora. On your way into town, stop past Lake Centenary where you’ll find the Sugar & Spice vintage food truck, the ideal pitstop for a coffee or something more substantial. 

This afternoon, you’re spoilt for activity choice. History buffs may wish to take a self-guided walking tour of the town, exploring Temora’s colonial and art deco buildings (pick up a map from the Visitor Information Centre). And then there’s the Temora Aviation Museum, where you can glimpse one of the world’s finest collections of historic aircraft. 

Canola Trail, Temora

Evening 

Temora’s heritage is brought to life in many of the town’s cottages-turned-accommodation. For something quirky, check in to the Country Carriage Bed and Breakfast, where you get to sleep in actual train carriages, now kitted out with every nicety imaginable.

Country Carriage Bed and Breakfast - Credit: Jeremy Kruckel & Rita Bromfield

Morning 

It’s worth getting up before dawn when you have a hot-air balloon ride over canola fields to look forward to. Goldrush Ballooning offers one-hour sunrise flights over golden fields that will take your breath away – and you can enjoy a glass of bubbles to celebrate when you return to Earth.  

Goldrush Ballooning - Credit: Paul Gibbs

When your feet are firmly on the ground, make your way to Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory, where you can sample a mind-boggling array of sweet treats, see how they are made, and then take home a chocolate pizza wheel, perhaps, or a giant freckle. There are also fun DIY kits, and an onsite cafe where you can order morning tea, or something more substantial.   

Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory, Junee

If you have the time (and the gumption!), you may wish to stop past one of Junee’s most unusual attractions: the Monte Cristo Homestead. This is reputed to be Australia’s most haunted house. Take a tour… if you dare. 

Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee

Afternoon  

The drive from Junee to Coolamon is along the Canola Way, so expect your view to have a yellow hue. When you arrive in Coolamon, amble along Cowabbie Street and admire the heritage buildings, browse boutiques such as Treats and Treasures and admire art at Coolamon Aboriginal Arts Gallery. When it’s time for a snack, make your way to Coolamon Cheese Co, an artisan fromagerie where you can sample the wares before picking up blocks of cheese infused with the likes of lemon myrtle, river mint or native desert raisins. There are also cheese and wine hampers, if you want to make a picnic out of it.  

It's a 30-minute drive to Wagga Wagga, your base for the night. 

Streetscapes in Coolamon

Evening 

After checking in to The Houston, where every room is individually designed, wander to Fitzmaurice Street, where laneway art can be found at the back of trendy cafes and eateries. Make yourself comfortable at Wagga Wagga’s own brewpub, Thirsty Crow Brewing Co.  

Credit: Thirsty Crow Brewery

Morning 

A rather suave little space next to the Murrumbidgee River, Meccanico Espresso and Wine takes its culinary and design cues from Europe. Breakfast bites on the menu include marinated anchovies atop sourdough, or crumpets with mushrooms, truffle and Greek feta.

Before departing town, stop past the National Art Glass Collection, a staggering space home to more than 700 works reflecting developments in contemporary art glass practice from the 1960s to the present.  

National Art Glass Collection - Credit: Wagga Wagga VIC

Afternoon 

Break up your drive home with a stop in Jugiong to enjoy lunch at Long Track Pantry (they make amazing sauces and jams you can take away) or the Sir George, occupying a grand 1852 building. If you still have space in your Esky, pick up regional wines and tasty produce at Jugiong Wine Cellar, as a tasty reminder of your four days exploring the Canola Trail. 

Long Track Pantry, Jugiong