Best Winter Weekend Trips from Perth
Winter in Perth gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t! The rain turns the hills green, the crowds thin out, cellar doors light their fires, and the roads south fill with the kind of moody coastal light that makes everything look better.
Fremantle
Distance: ~30 minutes from Perth CBD
A weekend in Freo rarely needs a plan – the city does the work for you. Spend Saturday morning on the cappuccino strip, an afternoon at the Fremantle Arts Centre or Prison, and the evening at Little Creatures or one of the bars along the waterfront. Sunday is for the Fremantle Markets, a slow breakfast, and a walk along the port before heading home. It works in any weather, and that’s the point.
Swan Valley
Distance: ~30 minutes northeast of Perth
The Swan Valley in winter is better than the Swan Valley in summer, full stop. Two days gives you time to do it properly – cellar doors, a long lunch at Mandoon Estate or Homestead Brewery, the chocolate shops, the local produce stops – without rushing between them. Stay at one of the valley’s B&Bs and wake up Saturday with nowhere to be in particular. Plenty of venues are indoors or undercover, so a bit of rain doesn’t spoil anything.
York
Distance: ~1.5 hours east of Perth
WA’s oldest inland town is a proper weekend destination in winter – quiet, handsome and unhurried. Saturday is for walking Avon Terrace, poking around the York Motor Museum’s collection of classic cars, and a long lunch at one of the cafés on the main strip. Sunday morning brings the farmers market and a slow drive home through the green Avon Valley hills. Book ahead for accommodation – the good spots fill up on winter weekends.
Toodyay
Distance: ~1 hour northeast of Perth
Toodyay moves at its own pace and a weekend is the right amount of time to match it. Wander Stirling Terrace, visit Connor’s Mill, walk the Bilya Track beside the Avon River, and spend an evening at the pub. The surrounding hills hold lavender fields, olive groves and local artisans worth finding on a second day. It’s the kind of place where the bakery stop ends up being the highlight, and nobody’s complaining about that.
John Forrest National Park and Mundaring
Distance: ~45 minutes east of Perth
Close enough to do in a day, but better with a night in the hills. WA’s first national park is properly beautiful after winter rain – forest trails wind past waterfalls and wildflowers, and the 340-metre Swan View Tunnel is one of those things you can’t quite believe exists this close to Perth. Base yourself in Mundaring and use the Mundaring Weir Hotel as your anchor, which has been feeding visitors since 1898 and does the job well.
Rottnest Island
Distance: ~25–90 minute ferry depending on departure point
Cost: Ferry ticket required
A winter weekend on Rotto is one of Perth’s best-kept secrets. The summer crowds are gone, the quokkas are everywhere, and you’ve got the bays mostly to yourself. Hire bikes and circle the island on day one, walk a section of the Wadjemup Bidi on day two, and eat every meal with an ocean view. Accommodation is available – and affordable – in a way it simply isn’t from December to February.
Mandurah
Distance: ~1 hour south of Perth
Mandurah makes a relaxed winter weekend – no agenda required! The estuary is one of WA’s best spots to see bottlenose dolphins, either from the foreshore or on a canal cruise, and the waterfront café strip is a good place to settle in and watch them go past. Spend one day on the water and the other exploring the Halls Head Coastal Path and the quieter stretches south of town.
Yallingup and Cape Naturaliste
Distance: ~2.5 hours south of Perth
Yallingup in winter is moody and spectacular in equal measure. Big swell rolls in off the Southern Ocean, the cliffs take on a different light and the surf breaks look their best. Spend the first day on the Wardanup Trail through coastal heathland up to views of Sugarloaf Rock, then drive out to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse – humpback whales pass through on their northward migration and a sighting from the headland is not unusual. Stay the night and ease into Sunday with a slow breakfast before heading home.
Margaret River Town and Surrounds
Distance: ~3 hours south of Perth
This is the one winter is made for. Cellar doors light their fireplaces, the region’s restaurants are at their most atmospheric, and the drive down through karri and jarrah forest after a stretch of rain is genuinely beautiful. Give yourself two full days – one for Caves Road and the wineries, one for the town centre, the Chocolate Company, the Providore and a walk along the river. Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate are perennial favourites; book lunch ahead.
Pemberton and the Karri Forest
Distance: ~3.5 hours south of Perth
Pemberton earns a full weekend and winter is the best time to give it one. The karri forest after rain is something else entirely – enormous trees, a green forest floor, mist through the canopy. Walk the Valley of the Giants, climb the Gloucester Tree fire lookout on day one for views 53 metres up into the treetops, then take the vintage Pemberton Tramway through the forest on day two. The town has a good pub, a handful of wineries and enough to fill two easy days without any fuss.
Dwellingup
Distance: ~1.5 hours south of Perth
Dwellingup is the kind of place that slows you right down, which is the whole point. The Lane Poole Reserve holds some excellent forest walks with the Murray River running full and fast after winter rains, and the Dwellingup Heritage Trail gives context to the town’s timber history. There’s good trout fishing in the area for those inclined, and the drive in through the jarrah forest sets the tone from the start. For a bit of fun, try Dwellingup Adventures.