Our Local guide to Margaret River region
Top 10 Things to Do in Margaret River
Our favourite ways to spend a few days in the region, the places we send our own friends, all within easy reach of Rosewood on Wallcliffe Road.
Margaret River packs a remarkable amount into one corner of Western Australia, two lighthouses, limestone caves, karri forest, a coastline made for walking and some of the country's most celebrated wineries. Rosewood sits in quiet gardens a 10 minute stroll from the main street, so you can head out to the coast or the cellar doors by day and walk to dinner at night.
Here are the ten experiences we recommend most with drive times from our door and a few local tips to help you plan.
1. Experience a private wine tour with The Journey Margaret River
With more than a hundred cellar doors across the region, a great guide makes all the difference. The Journey Margaret River runs the best private wine tours in the Margaret river region. For groups of up to seven, led by local food and wine experts. Visit the famous estates and the small family wineries you'd never find on your own.
Your day is shaped around what you like to drink, with pick up and drop off at Rosewood guesthouse, so nobody has to choose between tasting and driving. Travelling as a couple? Ask us about a private tour in Rosie, our own 1956 Rolls Royce.
2. Visit Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse then an abalone roll at Subsea Estate
Drive south to the most south westerly tip of mainland Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse has stood here since the 1890s and is the tallest lighthouse on the Australian mainland. Join a guided tower tour for the climb to the balcony, the view and the wind, are unforgettable, then wander the old keepers' cottages and coastal paths.
On the way back, stop at Augusta Boat Harbour for Subsea Estate, Australia's first open ocean winery, where wine is aged beneath the waves of Flinders Bay. The cellar door pairs tastings with abalone caught just offshore and the abalone roll is the reason we send everyone here.
3.Visit the Margaret River Farmers Market on Saturday morning
Saturday mornings in Margaret River town revolve around the Farmers Market, running since 2002 and named Australia's Most Outstanding Farmers' Market at the 2018 delicious awards. The rule here is simple stallholders sell what they grow or make themselves, so you're buying straight from the region's farmers, bakers, cheesemakers and winemakers.
Grab a coffee, graze your way through the stalls and pick up a few things for a picnic later in the day. Locals' tip arrive early, before the best produce sells out.
4. Visit Lake Cave
Of the many caves beneath the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge, Lake Cave is the one we recommend first. You reach it by descending a staircase through a sunken forest, and inside, a still underground lake mirrors the crystal formations above, the only cave on the ridge with a permanent lake. The highlight is the "Suspended Table", a formation weighing several tonnes that appears to hover just above the water.
Tours are fully guided and take about an hour. Pair it with a drive through the tall karri trees of nearby Boranup Forest.
5.Go for dinner at Miki's Open Kitchen
Tucked just off the main street in an unassuming building, Miki's is one of the most talked about tables in the region. Chef Mikihito "Miki" Nagai and his team cook modern Japanese food with local produce in an open kitchen at the centre of the room, using shallow copper pots for their signature tempura. Take a seat at the counter to watch the action and let Miki choose for you with the degustation, matched with sake or local wines.
Best of all, it's an easy walk from Rosewood, no taxi, no designated driver.
Stay at Rosewood
Make a weekend of it
Four ensuite garden rooms, a short walk from the main street.
6. Walk a section of the Cape to Cape Track
The Cape to Cape Track runs more than 120 kilometres along the coast between the Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin lighthouses, through limestone cliffs, empty beaches and karri forest. You don't need a week to enjoy it, the track is made for half day and day sections.
Wallcliffe Road leads straight from Rosewood to the coast at Prevelly, a perfect starting point. Walk south over the cliffs towards Redgate Beach or for a full day, take on Redgate to Boranup, widely regarded as one of the finest stretches of the whole track. In spring, the heath is full of wildflowers.
7. Go whale watching in season
Each year, tens of thousands of humpback, southern right and occasionally blue whales migrate past this coast, giving the region one of the longest whale watching seasons in Australia, roughly June to early December.
Early in the season, boat tours leave from Augusta Boat Harbour, where humpbacks and southern rights gather in sheltered Flinders Bay. From late winter through spring, the action moves north to Geographe Bay, with cruises departing Dunsborough. Prefer to stay on land? Bring binoculars to Cape Leeuwin, Cape Naturaliste or the clifftops along the Cape to Cape.
8. Go for a long lunch at Leeuwin Estate
Few lunches say "Margaret River" quite like Leeuwin Estate. One of the region's founding wineries, it is famous for its Art Series Chardonnay and its restaurant balcony looks out over karri forest. The kitchen celebrates seasonal Western Australian produce, matched with current and museum release Leeuwin wines and holds three stars in the WA Good Food Guide 2025.
Choose a three course menu or settle in for the six course tasting menu, then leave time for the estate's art gallery.
9. Start the day at the White Elephant Beach Café
Perched right on the sand at Gnarabup, the White Elephant is where locals start the day. The morning ocean swim crowd gathers here year round and the deck looks straight across the turquoise water of Gnarabup Bay, in season, you might even spot a passing whale.
Order a coffee and something from the morning menu, take a seat on the deck and follow it with a swim or a walk along the beach.
10. Visit the northern cape beaches: Eagle Bay, Meelup and Castle Rock
On the sheltered eastern side of Cape Naturaliste, the beaches face Geographe Bay rather than the open ocean so the water is usually calm, clear and impossibly blue. Meelup is the best known, perfect for swimming and snorkelling. Castle Rock, just around the corner is quieter and named for the granite tower at the end of the bay. Eagle Bay offers a long, peaceful stretch of white sand.
Walk between them on the coastal Meelup Trail, then carry on to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse to see the other end of the Cape to Cape.
Stay at Rosewood
Make a weekend of it
Four ensuite garden rooms, a short walk from the main street.