Discover Cooma: museums, trails and art

Cooma offers different ways to explore the town’s past and present: historic vehicles and railways, regional art, markets and trails through bushland. You can shape your stay around the experiences that interest you most. When choosing a holiday rental in Cooma, it’s worth considering what you’d like to focus on—for example, culture, creative activities or time outdoors.

Automotive and railway history

The Cooma Car Club Motor Museum showcases historic cars and motorcycles from the Cooma Monaro region, along with memorabilia relating to automotive history. The museum also includes a fully functioning American diner in the style of the 1950s. The vehicles and memorabilia tell different stories about automotive history, while the diner adds a distinctly different design theme to the museum.

The Cooma Monaro Railway Museum focuses on railway history and is housed in Cooma’s restored railway station building. It is located in Cooma, in the Snowy-Monaro region of New South Wales. Groups can be accommodated, and the museum accepts tour bookings by prior arrangement. If you’re planning to visit the museum, factor this arrangement into your plans.

Markets and local experiences

Fresh Produce Markets are held at Cooma railway station on the second Sunday of each month, from 9 am to 1 pm. This regular monthly event is a specific opportunity to include a market visit in your stay.

Trails between town and bushland

The Cooma Creek Reserve Walking & Bicycle Path runs from Church Road at one end of Cooma to Lambie Street at the other; part of the path is included in the Lambie Town Historic Walk.

Cooma North Ridge Reserve covers about 80 hectares and offers numerous tracks and trails, including walking trails for exploring the bushland. It is accessible on foot from central Cooma via Crisp Street, making it easy to plan a visit on foot from the town centre.

Art, photography and local history

The Raglan Gallery & Cultural Centre holds several exhibitions featuring local artists throughout the year. Regular art classes and workshops for adults and children are also held there. If you’d like to include creative activities in your trip, these classes and workshops may be a useful starting point; check dates before making plans.

The Charles Davis Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. It displays photographs by Charles Davis featuring subjects such as alpine mornings, snow-covered mountains and the Australian wilderness. In Centennial Park, the historic Avenue of Flags and the Cooma Mosaic Time Walk, with its murals, tell the story of the region. The gallery and murals offer different perspectives: photographic landscapes on the one hand, and regional history expressed through public art on the other.

These attractions offer different highlights, without requiring you to combine them into a single itinerary.

More destinations

Jaspers Brush, Central Coast, Sandy Hollow, Molong, Pagewood, Yass River, Tinonee, South Durras

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.