Picton
- "Thirlmere" redirects here. See Thirlmere Lakes National Park for the national park.
Picton is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. It's typically regarded as the northernmost end of the Southern Highlands but it's very close to being regarded as the southernmost of Sydney.
Understand
editIf you're passing Picton - drop in and visit now! Sydney is sprawling to the south-west and west, and Picton is already at the edge of the commuter belt for Sydney. But the town centre of Picton is still charming, with a creek running through the town to the south, and a selection of shops along the main street, good coffee from a choice of cafes. It is the kind of village look that crafty tourist towns of Berry and Bowral try to capture, but it is here at the centre of a real local community in Picton. Get off the Hume Highway, and drop in to Picton for a coffee and a wander. If you miss it this time, next time you're passing it may just be another Sydney suburb with a strip mall on the outskirts.
Get in
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By car
editPicton is around a 10-km diversion from the M31 Hume Motorway heading southwest from Sydney. It is an easy day trip from Sydney, or a more scenic route out of Sydney along the Old Hume Highway and the Razorback Range.
The town centre is a little off the main road, so make sure you don't think the ugly service station and industrial areas is what passes for the centre.
By train
editSouthern Highlands Trains (SHL) stop at 1 Picton Station 
every hourly on weekdays and every 2 hours on weekends. Change at Campbelltown if visiting from Sydney. Opal cards are valid, and services cannot be booked. NSW Trainlink booked services (to Canberra and Melbourne) pass through Picton without stopping.
By bus
editPicton buslines operates some services to Campbelltown and to Camden. These services do not accept Opal, and are no longer part of the integrated Sydney transport ticketing. You must purchase a ticket from the driver.
By bike
editPicton lies near the top of Old Razorback road, that is a classic cyclist challenge, that can still be mastered by an average cyclist. The trip from Campbelltown out to Picton is around 70 km return. With a frequent train service to Campbelltown, good coffee in Picton, and a nice hill in between, this may be your ride!
Get around
editYou can reach the centre of the village, the bridges, and the pub without a car. You will need a car to see the surrounding countryside and lookouts.
See
edit- 1 Mushroom Tunnel, 229 Argyle St (a path with a sign leads off Argyle St, veer left rather than going up the hill), council@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au. Daylight. The tunnel is a relic of the old rail route through Picton, before realignment to reduce gradients. It was then used to grow mushrooms and is said to be haunted. It is a short walk to the other side.
- 2 NSW Rail Museum, 10 Barbour Rd, Thirlmere (7 km south of Picton), ☏ 1300 115 599 (domestic). M–F 10AM–4PM; Sa Su 9AM–5PM. A rail museum dedicated to preserving heritage rolling stock (and claims to hold Australia's largest collection of heritage rolling stock). You can also take a ride on the heritage steam train along the Picton–Mittagong loop line, which is a mostly disused railway line. $15 (museum only), $35 (museum + train ride).
- 3 Victoria Bridge, Prince St between Menangle St and Argyle St. Historic trestle bridge over Stonequarry Creek.
Do
edit- 1 Skydive. Sydney Skydivers operates exclusively from the nearby airport at Wilton (the turn off is a few hundred metres from the Picton exit off the Hume Highway (freeway)). Full licence training also available. There is a cafe with a decent coffee machine and toasted sandwiches at a reasonable price if you just want to watch. Or if your idea of lunch is a pack of corn chips with a tin of bean mix and cheese for around $8, they can help you with that too. Picnic tables if you'd rather bring your own. Entry is free, $275 for a tandem skydive. Discounts available for a second jump on the same day. Pick a time online, but usually it is okay to just drop in.
- 2 Thirlmere Lakes National Park. A
UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area next to the former Couridjah station. The lakes gave it the world-heritage status. 
Buy
editEat
edit- Georges On Argyle, 4/403 Argyle St, ☏ +61 2 4677 0397.
- 1 Off The Rail, 17 Oaks St (opposite NSW Rail Museum in Thirlmere), ☏ +61 2 4623 4131. Chips, schitties and burgers – can't say much else about this tiny railside cafe.
- 2 Picton Social, 135-139 Argyle St (cnr Old Hume Hwy and Picton Rd), ☏ +61 2 4677 5865. Daily 8AM–3PM. A small mid-range cafe with quite a range of food and drink options. It can be quite pricey, but the quality of the food often pays out for it. $15–35.
- Vabys Restaurant, 2 Station St, ☏ +61 2 4677 1018.
Drink
edit- 1 George IV Inn, 180 Argyle St. A historic pub with a nice balcony, good food, beer and live music. Has accommodation and is an easy walk from the train station if you don't want to drive home afterwards. The pub was the site of one of Australia's first microbreweries. Geoff Scharer ran the pub and brewed a lager and the Burragorang Bock (named after the nearby valley). Scharer died in 2012. The kettle is still on display in the bar, but the pub no longer does any brewing. The Bock and the Lager made from the original recipe are still available in the Australian Hotel in The Rocks
Sleep
editThere are a selection of farmstays around the area.
- Mowbray Park FarmStay, 745 Barkers Lodge Rd, Mowbray Park, ☏ +61 2 722 833 00.
There is accommodation at the George IV Inn and the other pubs in town.
Connect
editPicton Post Office is on the main street, and open weekdays and Saturday mornings.
A few of the cafes along the main street also offer free Wi-Fi to their customers.
Go next
editExplore the Southern Highlands, the rivers, Burragorang Lookout, and the Oaks.
The world-heritage Thirlmere Lakes National Park is nearby.
| Goulburn ← Mittagong ← | SW M31 NE | → Macarthur → South-western Sydney |
| END ← | NW B88 SE | → Wollongong |
| Goulburn ← Mittagong ← | SW SHL NE | → Campbelltown |