What are the best things to do in Ravensthorpe, WA?

The best things to do in Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, include admiring the silo art, seeing wildflowers on the Ethel Daw Scenic Drive and visiting the Dance Cottage Museum.

5 best things to do in Ravensthorpe, WA

The best things to do in Ravensthorpe are:

Admire the historic buildings along the Cattlin Creek Heritage Trail.
Learn about the local mining history at the Dance Cottage Museum.
Be seriously impressed by the massive mural spread across three grain silos.
Walk at least part of the Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk.
See wildflowers on the Ethel Daw Scenic Drive.

Where is Ravensthorpe, WA?

Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, is on the South Coast Highway on the drive from Albany to Esperance or Perth to Esperance. Given the lack of other settlements in the area, it makes for a logical food and fuel stop on the long drive.

Things to do in Ravensthorpe: Cattlin Creek Heritage Trail and Dance Cottage Museum

Ravensthorpe is an old mining town, and a surprisingly historic one, too. There are several heritage buildings from the early 1900s in the town centre and the Cattlin Creek Heritage Trail winds past them.

The trail starts at the Dance Cottage Museum, which covers local history, with particular emphasis on the mining waves that shaped the town’s past and character.

Things to do in Ravensthorpe, WA: Silo art

Elsewhere in the town, visitors can admire the giant murals on the side of the town’s grain silos. It’s a single artwork by Dutch artist Amok Island and it shows the flowering cycle of the banksia plant. The silos are by the South Coast Highway.

Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk

For walkers, the Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk stretches 41km to the coast at Hopetoun. This rail trail follows the former railway line, which connected the mines to the ships at the Hopetoun Jetty.

Ethel Daw Scenic Drive

But if you arrive in spring, the best thing to do in Ravensthorpe is take a scenic drive through the Ravensthorpe Range. Between August and November, it becomes a carpet of wildflowers.

The 30km Ethel Daw Scenic Drive is a good bet for this, with the Mount Desward Lookout being the single best photo stop along the way.

The Green Haven Tourist Park is the best bet for Ravensthorpe accommodation.