Armidale Autumn colours draw out the tourists in droves

The deciduous trees have proved a calling card for tourists visiting Armidale, Uralla and Walcha just to check out the falling leaves.

Armidale Regional Council acting principal advisor tourism and events, Katrina George, said many people had been coming through the doors of the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) for tips on the best spots to see.

Read also:

They also want to know what type of trees they are.

"A lot of people come from the mid North Coast from Port Macquarie and Newcastle all the way up to QLD. Southern QLD we get a lot from that area and a lot from Sydney as well," Ms George said.

"It's always our peak time anyway but considering last year, coming off the back of COVID and lockdown and people wanting to explore the region, it has been insanely busy.

"For people from QLD, we're starting to get some frosts here and it's something they don't get to experience so it's that other nice little drawcard of being in front of a fire in the pubs and having nice warm days and cool nights. It's the best of both worlds."

Over at Walcha VIC, tourism manager Lisa Kirton said it had been busy, but there had been a significant downturn at the same time.

"Our problem is the Oxley Highway is closed down to Port Macquarie, so I think we're missing out on a lot because of that," Ms Kirton said.

"But I think people that want to find you, want to come to the New England area, will go the long way around.

"Thunderbolts Way is still open, Waterfall Way is still open, and both falls are accessible so they can still visit the best of Walcha because it doesn't impact the falls."

Ms George said any lookouts in Armidale were "beautiful to get that overall look at all the different colours".

"Elm Avenue near the uni and Gostwyck Chapel at Uralla which is one of those iconic things that people want to see in all its glory," she said.

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE EMAILS FEATURING THE BEST LOCAL NEWS AND STORIES, AS WELL AS OUR BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

The colourful goodness is set to stick around for a few more weeks.

"At the moment if we continue to have the beautiful weather and don't have any big storms that come through, we generally say the leaves are peaking from now until sort of mid to late May," Ms George told the Express.

"From now to the next three weeks, it's the pick of the time to visit. By June it's pretty much done."

Locals can visit both centres to pick up a brochure with all the information they need to see the colourful trees.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: