Top 27 things to do and attractions in Cowra

What a beautiful place. So serene, well thought out. Everything was in full bloom. Ducks were in there splendour. We even saw some ducklings Finished our afternoon off with a drink and snack from the Cafe.

A beautiful, tranquil experience! It is a must do attraction if you are visiting Cowra. I'm a local, and love taking my visitors and kids to the gardens. There's ducks and fish to feed, and lots of lizards to spot along the way. Highly recommended!

I love this place so much that I've bought a yearly ticket. I'm looking forward to seeing each season. It's a lovely drive from Canberra through Boorowa and great for my dogs. The staff are wonderful; so friendly and helpful. It's a pleasant overnight trip on a weekend.

This was a wonderful experience to walk around these beautiful manicured gardens. They took you to another world. Great service in the cafe with great food options and then a lovely gift shop and our dogs were welcomed to join us.

This is a lovely and serene garden that is well worth visiting. It is bigger than I expected, but not too big to be explored in 1-2 hours. You can also set up your picnic rug and spend the afternoon here. There is a cafe as well, up front.

Lovely and tranquil garden and not too busy. Good gift shop and cafe both of which are not over priced. Highly recommended.

If you love flowers this is the place for you. There is plenty of parking for cars & caravans, clean facilities, gift shop and cafe. The gardens are easy to walk around with plenty of spots to stop and enjoy the view.

A remarkable effort Cowra to get a bell. Keep ringing for peace.

Stunning example of craftsmanship & casting of a bronze bell. Very somber to look at and respect its significance.

What a wonderful surprise to know that the Australian World Peace Bell is in Cowra.

Very cool

Walked🚶‍♀️through here a while back. I enjoyed all the gift ideas that were on display in the centre, and I then looked at the information about the Cowra Breakout it was rather interesting.

Recommended to view the hologram presentation here at the visitor centre prior to making way up to the Japanese Gardens and Breakout site

Great story told so very well Really enjoyable

Great place to see had a great holographic 9 minute show on historical POW camp well worth visiting for and some local wines, jams, chocolate etc for sale. Information lady was quite forward wanting to help when u were just looking around, we would have gone to her eventually but she was a little forward to get your attention! She gave us information quickly and accurately then we went on our way!

Great place to stop. Very informative.

A must do. The hologram display on the breakout was so well done. So educational.

Fantastic van park the place is in immaculate condition so clean and we'll maintained. One of the few parks that is pet friendly added to all this is it's terrific location right in town.

Beautiful Clean amenities available Awesome Children's Park AND BBQ area heaps of seating and shelters. Toilets and Taps Available Thank You Cowra Shire ! WHAT A GORGEOUS LOOKOUT ! 🥰🥰🥰

Lovely lookout over the town. Drive up and short walk up to the lookout or some steps to go right up the top but both levels have beautiful views. Nearby is the adventure playground and good clean public toilets. Japanese gardens right nearby and further on is the ww2 pow site. This area is lovely and well done to Cowra for making it possible. 4 wonderful places to visit all close to each other. I will be returning

Perfect sunset lookout and kangaroo homestay. We need more maps guide to find the way though.

Beautiful lookout just up the hill from the Japanese Gardens in Cowra. Well with the stop. Plenty of room to park the caravan and no need to turn around to get out. There’s also a great kids playground, public toilets, free BBQ’s & plenty of picnic tables too.

An excellent spot to visit if you want to have a look at the whole Cowra district. There’s carparking located at the lookout. The walk from the car to the lookout if only 100 metres. There are some picnic tables near the carpark. The lookout is located about 500 metres from the Japanese garden carpark. The lookout is located about 2 kilometres from Cowra’s CBD.

This lookout provides almost a 180 degree view of Cowra. It is a simple walk and not a arduous climb. If there are bo crowds then it is easy to park the car just at the base of the climb. Adventure park is an excellent place for kids of all ages to hangout. There are zip lines for kids of different ages and various other play stuffs that both adults and kids can have a go yet. Please take a hat , bottle of water and apply sunscreen if you are planning to spend the afternoon there. Early morning or late afternoon would be an ideal time to visit. It is an ideal place to spend some time with family.

This park and lookout near the japanese garden is pretty good. The lookout needs a bit of a resurfacing. Overall nice.

Great gallery with super helpful staff. We were lucky enough to see the art from the Colleen Art Award.

Excellent regional art gallery with the best work of artists from around the state.

This gallery is well worth a visit. They do a good job attracting visiting exhibitions as well, we saw an excellent exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery recently.

well worth a visit.. I enjoyed a fascinating ceramic exhibition when I visited Cowra recently and was so glad I took the time to see it.. Friendly welcome as I entered with good information offered. Exhibition well presented in a spacious well lit gallery space,and a small gift shop at reception. Parking nearby also disabled parking close and wheelchair entry ramp easy to manage. Gallery next to a library and in the main street so other facilities nearby..food and coffee etc.

Its worth dropping by if you are visiting Cowra. Last weekend when we visited the Art Gallery, there was a Quilt exhibition. Staff were extremely nice and they took time to explain us about the exhibition and exhibits. Place is centrally located opposite the World Peace Bell.

Very good travelling exhibition nicely laid out in a not too big gallery. Car park right beside gallery. Has an EV charger for anyone who is interested.

Great staff. Good layout. The descriptions of the works were placed at a good height and the font size was just right Enlightened display compared to other galleries.

Worth the stop if you're in the are especially if you visit the POW camp. Beautiful and peaceful Japanese cemetery. Interesting history.

Lovely to visit and see respect shown to fallen Japanese soldiers. I was surprised at how old a large majority were. The oldest one I found was 79 years old. Quite a few in the late 50's and mid 60's.

Very beautiful and remarkably done. So very peaceful

A small and well maintained cemetery that is in two sections. One is the resting place for Japanese POW’s and the other for some Australian soldiers.

Absolutely fantastic place to vist, the surrounding gardens are nice very well looked after and easy to access

Well worth the visit, a beautiful and tranquil park to spend the day wandering around

Very peaceful

Interesting. Train lovers will like it. Admission $10 per adult.

Great to see the efforts of the volunteers trying to keep steam era alive. Very much needs lots of dollars to bring it to real glory. Do hope they can get a lot more funding.

Fantastic experience seeing the real vibe and inner workings of a rail depot. Lots of friendly people and information. There's a lot of parts that have unaccessible areas, but some are not properly fenced off in my opinion. So it can be a little bit dangerous. If you have young ones, please make sure you keep a good eye on them and a hold of them. At the start they do tell us which areas are best not to go and what you can and can't do but that can be a little confusing or hard to remember after 10 minutes..

Very interesting and a good look at an old turntable, a couple of steam engine trains and old trains I remember from my childhood days! Also an old station master house and some good information of historical events revolving the trains in Cowra!

Fantastic peek into our railway history with a beautiful community of people running this museum. It comes highly recommended.

Interested in historical train stock? Look feel and see the bygone era of old and not so old train travel ! Rail fans take note! You will spend hours looking at all the items here on display! Entry by donation!

Went more for my husband and he was impressed, learnt about a few trains. He used to work on the railways, so he was happy to go through here. Good if you are a railway buff.

Such a fascinating place! Wonderful to see the restoration done on some of those beautiful trains. Lovely gardens & grounds too.

Beautiful trains in restoration. Self guided tour

Had a good time looking at the old trains. Great guide Ed was so knowledgable. Thanks for the great information.

I was a bit disappointed as we couldn't find anyone that really wanted to talk to us and not allowed into exhibits

Loved all the scenery and the information given. Very knowledgable staff.

Great place if you like old steam trains of Australia

Awesome self guided tour.

Nice little waterfall fairly close to town. Drive to causeway and park and walk approximately 2 km if you are in a 2WD car. Walk is quite easy along road (easy to walk but not suitable for 2WD car). The is hardly any uphill, it is a little rough but fairly easy for most walkers and only 2 km.

We have a lovely view on the way to the falls. My dog loves it! But it's a bit hard to drive into it.

Beautiful ❤️ need a 4x4 or walk from half way Wasn't flowing the day we went but was still a bit of a run.

4x4 for the last km or so. Cars not advised. Heaps of camping areas along the track. Looks like a nice place for a swim in summer

Great place for a bit of 4wding, the walk to the falls was great lots of water here in October. Would be a awesome place to camp for family, but lots of rubbish, good place for a 4wd club. I’ve got a 4wd but did the hole track in 2wd

Not a big waterfall, but a really pleasant walk and lovely rock pools. We had a 4WD, I wouldn’t dive a small car down this track

You will probably come to this place when the fall is asleep. In summer, the plunge pool beneath the fall (running or dry) is cool and refreshing. If you come at times when the pool is drying, you will see the distinctive 'racing stripes' that form on the sides of the pool. The area can be a bit off-putting and at some times the 2wd parking area can be full of rubbish :( but the falls themselves are worth heading to.

Beautiful railway station in rural NSW. We were fortunate enough to visit on the day LVR (Laughlan Valley Railway) were conducting passenger rides along a section of the now decommissioned railway line. The Devonshire tea that was served in the restored lounge rail carriage was stupendous. This lounge carriage was brought to the Cowra railway station specifically for the day. A heartfelt thanks goes out to all that made our visit a truly memorable experience.

Closed when I visited, had a good walk around. Would have been a busy place in years gone by.

Nice old building, well kept

Was a great surprise to see this, worth going for a look or a ride

Good little train trip down the track and back

He needs a bit more love..but it is very nice

Great coffee. Couldn't go on the train due to time restrictions. Will return another day. Very nice staff

Visited through the week at the start of winter 2025. The dirt roads and fire trails I traveled were well maintained. Walking trails are not as used as other more popular parks but still defined and easily navigable. Plenty of native flora and fauna here and there geology is interesting too.

This is an unloved little park. The long drop at the Wallaby picnic area was clean, but contained soft drink cans. The Wallaby Track offered very little in wildlife or views. The track was unkept. It was sometimes difficult to find arrows and reflectors, particularly when fallen trees had been removed. The track led to a carpark, which was located at the entrance to the park, as you approach from Cowra, but was unsignposted. Take the road on the left, immediately before the park entrance. We didn’t bother taking the Ironbark Track as we weren’t sure whether it would lead anywhere worth seeing. The park website lists the Wallaby Track as grade 4, yet the park sign says “easy grade.

Lesser-known and out-of-the way National Park therfore it's quieter - that may be a drawcard for some. Camping is no longer allowed at Wallaby Picnic area. I did both walking tracks, as they're not maintained there's overgrowth particularly the Wallaby Track. The Ironbark Track was ok but the lookout was disappointing (just trees). IMO not worth going there unless it's flower season, you're a keen birdwatcher or you're a NP completionist. Weddin Mountains NP nearby has better walks and scenery.

I had read about the "iron bark" walking trail and getting views over the valley and Cherry Creek. At the car park on Kangarooby Road I found a notice board which didn't reveal Anthony about the walk. Looking past the "road closed" sign I saw that there were 2 walks on low notice planks. The Iron Bark walk suggested 4 km and 2 hours for the circuit. On the Web it had said 1.5 hours. Anyway I had enough time, set off along the path which was fairly even, some rocks projecting slightly. White Reflectors placed every 50m or so to help find the way. After about 40minites with glimpses through trees of the Cowra Valley I found a big notice board about the shooting time flowers. It was mid October so I assumed it was spring time but apart from some miniskirt buds about to open, not much flowers. I saw 2 birds and a wallaby in the distance. At the bid sign there was a post with arrow and persons looking at scenery icons, I assumed this was the induction for the view. A couple of hundred metre down the hill was a protective fence and a a view the three Cherry bakery far beetle. Very steep cliffs, so glad of fence. Could no see creek for the trees and no view of the farming valley below us. Trudged back to the car, total time with stops for photos about 1.25hours. A disappointing excursion, good walk but not that exciting.

A relatively undeveloped park which was good but signs are rare and confusing so I wasn't confident of finding our planned walk. Nice park. Couldn't find much info on it's cultural background or special flora and fauna.

Lovely little National Park about 25 minutes from the township of Cowra. Wiradjuri land dominated mainly by Black Cyprus Pine, Ironbarks and Inland Scribbly Gum. A nice lookout over Cherry Creek along the Ironbarks walking track. Best time is early Spring to late November when you can catch all the wattle in full bloom and discover some little Orchids if you are lucky.

There must be a few entrances. We didn't find the main entrance.

About 8 interesting sculptures set in a park/arboretum adjacent to the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre. Free to visit.

Some interesting 🤔 sculptures adjacent to the Japanese garden.

Some interesting statues good place to stop for on a road trip

I had a flapping good time!

Long way down embankment to reach river. Only caught carp. Has 1 drop toilet and couple of sheltered sheds.

Nice river reserve with covered picnic tables and toilets. Easy to access with flat areas for parking and caravans.

River was very muddy but an ok spot for a sit and take your own coffee, lunch

If you want to free camp this place is layed back nice sunsets swiming in the adjacent river. Pets are allowed. Toilet is a drop box but it's clean and we'll maintained. Cowra is only a few klms down the road along with many other small towns to visit.

Currently messy and overgrown by weeds. Needs a good clean. Has great potential if the council put a little time into it.

Had lunch here, looks like nice spot.

Nice free camp ground close to Cowra. Basic drop toilets. Swimming. No drinking water.

Excellent park dog friendly and very close to town. Stay 5 nights and would recommend. Amenities were clean and well maintained. Was unexpectedly busy but I had a nice spot by the river.

Spent three nights in a twin room, double bed in each, cabin. Condition of cabin looked as though they had recently been internally refurbished. Everything, microwave, toasters, kettles, TV, everything, looked new. Park is well set out with cabins along one side of the park and caravans and campers on the other side. Very spacious park with a friendly type of feel. We stayed here 20 odd years ago and back then it was great. The rates for the cabin per night was very good compared to motels we stayed in before arriving here. Bit of noise from passing traffic along the street but nothing major. Lovely going for a night time walk around the park after dinner. Park is in walking distance to the town for shopping.

Excellent service by answering our call after hours and allowing us to choose a vacant spot and pay account in the morning. Friendly staff, lovely area fully fenced with river at the back. Right on the edge of town. Clean amenities. Recommend

Van park is very convenient to the CBD and located on the river and next to a great park. Japanese Garden and the Prison of War remnants and information boards good. Murals in water tanks worth a look. Cowra’s rose gardens over near the tourist park and Maccas very pretty.

Nice campground. A mixture of concrete and grassed sites. 5 minute walk to local supermarkets. The staff were friendly on arrival. Amenities are aged but clean. Camp kitchen is modern but no oven. I would stay here again

What a gem!! Great park on the banks of the Lachlan River! Clean amenities, lovely hot water and great sized showers. Very reasonable with a great camp kitchen. Easy walk into town!! Highly recommend!!

Very appreciative of the drive through site made available to us. The park was absolutely packed to the rafters upon arrival. It's a very popular park and the occupants are very quiet. Great spot on the river bank. The noisey trucks using exhaust brakes through town and the local hoons revving and roaring was the only reason the location doesn't get five stars.

We enjoyed the visit to Cowra POW camp. Such great history. You can walk or ride your bikes around the whole site.

Really interesting history about the Japanese, Italians,and other prisoners sent there and also tells about the breakout by Japanese prisoners that sadly alot were shot along with a few Australian prison guards killed.

Although the camp buildings are no longer there, there are some remnant you can see, a replica guard tower & memorials. The speaker on the tower was really impressive and there are lots of informative signs throughout the area. It is quite a large area to explore, we went on a warm sunny day so we decided to not adventure too far as there were alot of 'beware of snakes' signs & we had just seen an eastern brown snake at the adventure park nearby. However the place is really interesting & i'll definitely come back sometime to explore more. I was also impressed with the Garrison Walk nearby that was being used by lots of people at the time.

Great history make sure you go to the information centre in town for the hologram

My father was stationed there guarding the Italian power, he told us of his time there so it's great to see where he was and the history of the place.

Good bit of information on this POW camp and how the Japanese tried to escape. Also how the Japanese didn’t give their real names due to shame on their families and usually they are suppose to self sacrifice if they are caught, but if I was them I wouldn’t do it either!

Was lovely and informative, but walking track is crushed granite on a slope - I was in wheelchair and it would have been hard work to push me up the hill on the track so we didn't go down

Greens in smooth and fast condition, fairways are lush and green. This is a beautifully maintained country course

I very much enjoyed playing this tree lined park style course. The fairways were in very good condition and the fairway roughs were very playable. The greens had been recently cored, so, the roll and pace will improve. The practice facilities consisted of a putting green but I did not notice any other facilities. The pro shop staff were very friendly and professional.

The course is in magnificent condition due to spring rains

Bistro review. 8 of us came for dinner as we were in the area birdwatching. We enjoyed it so much that we all came back the next night. Food was fresh, well cooked and reasonably priced. The servings were not overly large which was a welcome change. Service was personable both at Bistro and Bar.

Great 18 hole course, the course is maintained at a top tier level, pro shop is stocked with great gear and the Pro is happy to help order things in. Thw club has a great bar and staff and I always feel welcome.

Enjoyed our game but you need to cut all the trees down( ha )

Waited 40 minute for meal that they had to change as they had no mash.... Staff caught in familiarity culture. Was ignored at bar whilst waitress served familiar 'Friends by name whilst I waited'. Very reluctant to recommend or return. Also the dress code of staff was shabby.

Great intimate venue for small shows. Saw Ros Wilson. Even though we were in 2nd back row, seats were good.

Watched a movie in the theatrette. Screen is a good size, but seats aren’t great. Looking forward to the upgrade in seating in December. Staff were very friendly.

My partner and I watched a movie in the Emperor recliners and it was fantastic. Super comfortable and service was top notch. Will definitely be back!!

Very spacious venue with excellent facilities and excellent staff.

A great facility with wonderful acoustics Had a sensational night out to see the BACH TO BOLLING concert Saddest part of the night was only 31 people came. The centre holds around 300 I would think. No members of the Cowra Council came and just so disappointing to see no older children present. The local schools should hang their head in shame This was an opportunity not to be missed

Always very busy during Eistedfodd times, but good organisation and planning made entering and exiting the venue, and accessing the facilities easy.

Great to have such entertainment in cowra pleasant environment but my God the seating is unbearable people bring cushions to help but come on cowra wakeup.

Really pretty and healthy roses. We did not go there in the rose season, but the ones that were out were pretty.

👍

So colorful

Beautiful garden.

Such a beautiful park

Sorry, the cellar door is closed, but opening shortly is the Wine Shed where by appointment only wines can be tasted. Ian Anderson

Great wine

The Little Magpie Gallery is well worth a visit in Cowra. Beautiful artworks from local artists across several floors. You are sure to discover a treasure.

Cowra needs places like this. Awesome little gallery, full of an eclectic mix of beautiful well priced artworks. The journey from one unique piece to another was enhanced by the bubbly, informative and very lovely Inel. An ever evolving collection; a gallery I’ll visit again.

Beautiful accesible artworks and ceramics which will be explained and appreciated with you . Not pushy.