Perry Sandhills, Wentworth: Location, history and sandboarding

The Perry Sandhills in Wentworth, New South Wales, are a photogenic place for sandboarding. But there’s also plenty of Aboriginal and natural history.

What are the Perry Sandhills?

The Perry Sandhills are a natural attraction near Wentworth, New South Wales. These rolling red sand dunes offer a taste of the desert before you hit the outback in earnest.

The Perry Sandhills are photogenic and have featured in several movies and TV shows.

Your Mildura checklist

Find the best accommodation.
Book a half day visit to the Trentham Estate Winery and Mildura Wetlands…
… Or a nature-focused Hattah Lakes 4WD tour.

Where are the Perry Sandhills?

The Perry Sandhills are 6km west of Wentworth in south-western New South Wales. The small town of Wentworth is at the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers, close to the Victorian and South Australian borders.

Mildura, on the Victorian side of the border, is generally a better place to stay and is only half an hour’s drive away.

History of the Perry Sandhills

These ancient sandhills are thought to have been formed by wind erosion over the course of 40,000 years. They’re on the edge of a floodplain, and cover roughly 400 acres. The Perry Sandhills are slowly but constantly shifting, and there are Aboriginal cultural heritage sites among them.

Fossil remains of long-extinct mega-fauna have been found in the dunes. Replicas of these giant emus, wombats, lions and kangaroos can be seen in Wentworth’s Pioneer Museum.

Sandboarding near Mildura

Most visitors to the Perry Sandhills aren’t coming for the heritage, however – they’re coming for fun. It’s a great place to try out sandboarding. Obviously most people don’t carry a sandboard around with them, but you can hire them for the day at Intersport in Mildura.