Discover Parkes

Explore Parkes through a wide range of interests: walking trails to lookouts and mining relics sit alongside a bushland circuit, cultural sites, restored tractors, aircraft and public art. You can shape your stay around nature and landscapes, culture or technology. For families planning a trip together, this variety offers different themes to help create a trip that suits them.

Hilltop views and bushland trails

Bushman’s Hill has walking trails to the summit. Panoramic views and historic mining relics bring the landscape together with the area’s mining history. If you enjoy discovering traces of earlier activity while walking, this offers a different focus from a stroll devoted mainly to the view. Memorial Hill also offers panoramic views: from there, you can look out over Parkes and the surrounding farmland. The two lookouts offer different perspectives—one over the town and its agricultural surroundings, the other along summit trails and past mining relics.

Another option is the Rotary Peace Walk. This gentle circuit passes through bushland and combines a walk with information panels in a reflective setting.

Culture, machinery and aviation

The Wiradjuri Amphitheatre is part of a site that recognises the Wiradjuri as the traditional custodians of the Parkes region. It offers a cultural perspective on the region. Alongside the landscape experiences, it shows that Parkes can be explored through more than just lookouts and trails.

Technology enthusiasts can see 45 restored, operational tractors at the Henry Parkes Museum & Antique Machinery Collection. The specific number and condition of the machines bring the collection’s focus to life. The HARS Parkes Aviation Museum displays a Bell AH-1 Huey Cobra, a De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou, a De Havilland DH.114 Heron and a Convair 580. You can choose between a collection of restored tractors and a museum with several aircraft—two distinct points of interest for a technology-focused stay.

Moat Cottage Replica offers a different kind of experience: a free 20-minute theatrical presentation about Sir Henry Parkes and his connection to Parkes. If you’re interested in this connection, you can include this short, clearly themed experience in your trip. Public art offers another way to explore the area: the Public Art Trail features art installations in Parkes’ central business district.

Putting Parkes in context as a destination

Some details help you locate individual places within Parkes. The Henry Parkes Centre is a tourism complex and cultural precinct on the northern side of Parkes. The HARS Parkes Aviation Museum is at the end of Muzycuk Drive at Parkes Airport. The Public Art Trail’s installations are in the central business district. You can take these different locations into account as you find your way around, without combining the experiences into a single walking tour.

If you’re looking for a holiday rental in Parkes, first consider what you want your trip to focus on: landscapes and walks, culture, historic machinery, aviation or public art. This can help you assess Parkes based on the experiences that matter to you, rather than deciding solely on a general impression of the town.

Discover more destinations

More destinations: Culcairn, Glendon Brook, Molong, Summer Island, Kincumber, Narrandera, Monkerai and Moore Park.

For the broader travel guide: New South Wales.