Discover Cooma

Cooma can be discovered through a variety of different trails: historic cars and motorcycles, a restored railway station building, art, and routes between the town and bushland. This lets you tailor your stay to your interests instead of choosing just one theme. The museums offer different perspectives on transport history; routes lead through Cooma or into a reserve with bushland trails, while galleries and art related to history add further cultural touches. If you are looking for a hotel for your trip, first consider which of these experiences you want to shape your stay.

Museums between motor vehicles and railways

At the Cooma Car Club Motor Museum, you can see historic cars and motorcycles from the Cooma Monaro region, as well as memorabilia relating to motoring history. The museum also features a fully operational American diner in the style of the 1950s. The Cooma Monaro Railway Museum offers a different focus: it is a railway museum with a historical emphasis, housed in Cooma’s restored railway station building, in the Snowy-Monaro region of New South Wales. This lets you distinguish between two different aspects of transport history.

On foot through Cooma and bushland

The Cooma Creek Reserve Walking & Bicycle Path runs from Church Road at one end of Cooma to Lambie Street at the other end of town. Part of it forms part of the Lambie Town Historic Walk, so the path is also connected with this historic walk. Cooma North Ridge Reserve covers about 80 hectares and has numerous tracks and trails to explore. Its walking trails offer the chance to explore the bushland. The reserve is accessible on foot from the town centre via Crisp Street.

The Cooma Heritage Trail is a self-guided walk through the town. This means that a path with specified endpoints, walking trails in bushland and a self-guided town walk are different ways to explore Cooma, without combining them into a single route.

Art, exhibitions and regional history

The Raglan Gallery & Cultural Centre hosts several exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing artists from the region. Art classes and workshops for adults and children are also held regularly. If you are travelling with children, these activities offer a specific reason to look beyond exhibitions and explore the art on offer.

The Charles Davis Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm; check the hours before your visit, as they may change. Centennial Park is home to the historic Avenue of Flags and the Cooma Mosaic Time Walk, with murals depicting the region’s history. This way, you can encounter regional history both in exhibitions and in the park’s murals.

Dates for your stay

The Fresh Produce Markets are held on the grounds of Cooma railway station on the second Sunday of each month from 9 am to 1 pm. Check the date before you travel, as market hours may change. The Cooma Monaro Railway Museum welcomes groups and accepts tour bookings by prior appointment. If you are travelling as a group or would like to book a tour, arrange an appointment in advance.

These specific times and conditions will help you plan your day: market hours, gallery opening hours and scheduled museum appointments are separate planning considerations. This allows you to decide which combination of transport history, art and walks suits your travel pace.

Discover more destinations: Sunshine Bay, Cobar, Crackenback, Holts Flat, North Turramurra, Dalgety, East Lynne, Parkes

For the overview of the wider region: New South Wales.