TOURISM

Tenterfield - Where History Meets Nature

Tenterfield is one of the biggest shires in NSW and is made up of five villages, but it’s the CBD precinct and surrounding national parks that will give you a feel for what all the fuss is about.

Grab a brochure from designated shops that carry tourist information for a self-guided tour of historic buildings, as well as the not-to-miss places including beautifully restored boutiques and bakeries (FYI: Bad Manners Café on Manners Street serves delicious hot donuts), galleries, retail shops and a new divine wine bar, Stonefruit, on the main street

Searching for some local handmade goodies? We recommend the handmade leather goods at Matilda Leather and one-of-a-kind pieces from local potters and painters from Make It Tenterfield. A visit to the Tenterfield Saddler is always a must and the Royal Hotel across the road had a recent makeover and offers some great beers on tap.

Fancy a sticky beak at some Federation homes? Molesworth, Rouse, Logan and Manners Street are home to some great old buildings and amazing seasonal autumn trees that are becoming a huge hit with visitors. Round off your day in town with a stroll along the banks of Tenterfield Creek, where you’ll find a newly built art trail and new kids and youth precinct with pump track, skate park and a mountain bike skills park.

The TCTIB have taken over the tourism component for the Tenterfield Shire visitor economy of recent years and as such have been working and have implemented the following :

Development of a DMP (Destination Management Plan) to have a direction for Tenterfield’s growing visitor economy.
Have aligned itself with NEHC (New England High Country). This is an alliance between multiple High Country LGA’s with monthly meetings held, discussions around website and social media for the NEHC website and social media platform that we all benefit from. Included in this is distribution of the NEHC fold out brochures/maps. Also included in this is a project per year (video, photo, print or digital media campaigns).
Have aligned Tenterfield with DNCO (Destination NSW Country Outback) through monthly catch ups, introduce guest speakers, passing on knowledge, events and information through email to business owners within the Shire.
Aligned Tenterfield with GBWC (Granite Belt Wine Country) and the Stanthorpe Chamber with regular catch ups to encourage tourism from both sides of the border to harness ‘cross border tourism’ and to work and promote each others strengths and assets.
Working with Business NSW within the tourism space and of recent have become a representative of the ‘Prosper’ Northern Rivers and Tenterfield Strategic Planning alliance to work on developing Economic and Destination Plan’s for our shire.
Continued work with our social media specialist for weekly social media posts showing a substantial increase in brand awareness and engagement across all forums.
Created relevant professional collateral and content through various campaigns with over 2,000 additional photos and several videos.
Have contracted an IT specialist to list Tenterfield businesses on the Australian Data Tourism Warehouse. This allows Tenterfield businesses to be accessible to a network of over 200 distributor websites including Tourism Australia increasing our online reach and exposure.
Advertised via print and digital media, including regional social media influencers and print media such as the Granite Belt High Country magazine.
Created, developed, produced and distributed new visitor guides which have run off the shelves.
Have rebranded Tenterfield in line with the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy – ‘Experience Tenterfield.’ Tenterfield is not just a place to Visit; it is a place to Experience. Our social media platforms are also getting a new name from Visit Tenterfield to Experience Tenterfield because that is exactly what we would love our visitors to do!
Have built a new, professional and easy-to-use Visitor Website ‘Experience Tenterfield.’ The Experience Tenterfield tourism website serves as a platform where visitors can learn about Tenterfield and its surrounding villages.
Last by in no way least we have recently opened the Tenterfield Information Centre at the Sir Henry Parkes School of Arts through grant funding received, and now with a dozen volunteers offering their time, knowledge and service to the community.

Pack your walking boots and camera

Here’s the thing, Tenterfield is surrounded by six national parks – so when it comes to scenic walks and outdoor adventures, you are seriously spoilt for choice. Pack a picnic and set off for Mount Mackenzie Lookout, where views stretch across the Tenterfield Valley and to the Queensland coast beyond. Or nearby you’ll find Draining Rock on Kildare Road, the second largest granite rock in the southern hemisphere, well worth a look.

Who took out the top spot you ask?! That would be Bald Rock, found at none other than Bald Rock National Park, a 30-minute drive north from the CBD. Crowned the southern hemisphere’s largest granite monolith, you’re invited to climb to the top and lap up the panoramic views, it’s seriously amazing.

Fancy a dip? Look no further than Boonoo Boonoo Falls – bring the esky, there are BBQs on site. Then there’s the Torrington State Conservation Area, an ideal spot for fossicking, or the Tooloom National Park, a bird-watching paradise.

Hop on your bike

Tenterfield is a blossoming hot spot for road, gravel and mountain biking, serving up single day, multi-day and off-road options.

For those who are especially serious about the sport, the town’s altitude is between 800m and 1300m above sea level, making this unique landscape an ideal training location for athletes countrywide. Angry Bull Trails is a new mountain bike trail initiative that has recently received serious government funding – so expect big things in this space for 2025 and beyond.

Sample a local tipple

Knucklehead Wines is where wine meets art and good times are had. It’s also where Kyle Goodwin and Sera J Wright – who are based in Tenterfield – started this unique brand and are striving to make the highest quality, low intervention wines in the New England High Country and Granite Belt. Sample the goods for yourself at Stonefruit Bar and other outlets in northern NSW.

Stay tuned for an emerging food scene in Tenterfield with 2025 set to have some great new events and businesses with new offerings coming to town.

So Tenterfield is, without doubt, an emerging destination town that’s ripe for some positive change – get up there soon to see what all the fuss is about.