One of the best spring activities to do in Perth is to head to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the S&R Orchard and see the gorgeous cherry blossom trees!
Located just 30 minutes from the centre of Perth, the S&R Orchard comes to life with vibrant bursts of pink blooms during the Cherry Blossom Spring Festival.
This magical event, held in the picturesque countryside of the Perth Hills, is one of the best places in Perth to see cherry blossom trees, as well as one of the best places to get some great Perth Instagram photos!
It makes for a great place to enjoy for a few hours, whether you’ll be visiting with the whole family, by yourself or with friends. Here’s all you need to know.
Where Is The S&R Orchard Spring Cherry Blossom Festival in Perth?
The family-run S&R Orchard is located in the Perth Hills, 25km southeast of Perth CBD. The address is 36 Halleendale Road, Walliston and you can find the Google maps location of S&R Orchard here.
How To Get To The Spring Cherry Blossom Festival At S&R Orchard
The S&R Orchard is just a short 30 minute drive from the centre of Perth. Yet it feels like a world away and offers the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Driving is the most convenient way to get here.
There is lots of parking available on-site, just make sure to reserve your free parking spot online beforehand to ensure you get a spot if you’ll be coming at the weekend!
You can’t park on the street and people will tell you to move your car if you try. No parking reservations are required if you’ll be visiting during the weekdays.
It’s also easy to get to S&R Orchard from Perth CBD by public transport!
Take the 282 bus from Elizabeth Quay Bus Station in Perth towards Kalamunda Bus Station. Get off at Grove Road after Hunter Drive – the bus should take 45 minutes and then it’s just a 600 metre walk to the S&R Orchard.
Check the timetable for the bus though – the 282 only tends to run every couple of hours.
If you want a more frequent method of public transport, you can take the train from Perth to High Wycombe, then take the 275 bus from High Wycombe Station to Grove Road, again walking 600 metres after you get off the bus to get to S&R Orchard.
What To Do At The S&R Orchard Spring Cherry Blossom Festival In Perth?
There are many things to do at the S&R Orchard Spring Cherry Blossom Festival!
Besides walking amongst the beautiful pink cherry blossoms, the big draw of the festival is the custom-designed floral-themed props, which make for some really great (and fun) Insta-worthy photos!
Take photos of the vintage car overflowing with flowers, the pink piano, the caravan, the phone booth, the many Insta frames, arches and sofas, all covered in beautiful pink flowers surrounded by the cherry blossoms in the orchard.
All the photo props are so Instagrammable and you can see so much thought had been put into them – they honestly get better every year!
There is also a really cute Instagrammable swing, as well as Japanese red Torii gates and a Japanese bridge which all make for stunning photos!
If you love taking photos, you will honestly love this place – it’s so photogenic. You can take photos here until your heart’s content!
For $15 you can also do a flower crown-making session on weekends at the Cherry Blossom Festival – now that would make for a great prop to add to your pictures!
This is also a great family-friendly place to bring kids in Perth, so if you’ll be bringing the little ones, there are lots of activities such as the tractor ride, animal farm (llamas, horses and goats) and bouncy castle for the children to enjoy for free.
In addition, the Ferris wheel and the teacup ride are $5 each.
I love how the Cherry Blossom Festival is really family-friendly, yet it still really appeals to people visiting without children too.
Entry Fee To The Spring Cherry Blossom Festival
Entry fee for the Spring Cherry Blossom Festival at S&R Orchard is $12 for adults and $5 for children. Under 3’s are free. You don’t buy tickets in advance online, you just pay at the gate when you arrive after you’ve parked.
After paying the entrance fee, you’re then free to explore the grounds as you wish. Both card and cash payments are accepted.
Best Time To Visit The Spring Cherry Blossom Festival
The Cherry Blossom Spring Festival takes place throughout 3 weeks of September each year (the dates in 2023 were 2nd – 25th September).
The dates will change slightly each year, aligning with the blooming season of these delicate flowers, but usually they are at their peak from the beginning until mid-September.
In 2023, the Perth winter was dry and mild so the cherry blossom trees flowered early and the Festival started a week earlier than normal.
It’s always best to visit nearer the start of the Festival as opposed to the end of the season, as the cherry blossoms are only on the trees for a couple of weeks!
If it’s rainy or windy, they can sometimes only blossom for a week! Cherry blossoms are definitely a short but sweet (and spectacular) season.
By the time I visited in the last few days of the festival, all the cherry blossoms had gone and the trees were green again instead of pink, so definitely visit in the first week or two to capture the pink cherry blossoms!
It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the S&R Facebook page for updates.
That being said, if like me, when you visit the cherry blossoms have gone, you’ll still have a great time. The orchard is stunning and the photo props are so full of pink that you won’t feel like you’re missing out.
Cherry blossoms are so beautiful and one of the most popular blossoming flowers in the world to view, so naturally, the Cherry Blossom Festival at S&R Orchard is very popular and can get very busy, especially at weekends.
Therefore if you’re after a quieter experience, consider visiting on weekdays or as soon as the gates open in the morning.
This will mean you’ll be able to explore the orchard at a leisurely pace and get photos easier as there will be fewer people around.
If you can’t visit during a quiet time though, don’t worry – you can still get great photos without other people in even if you visit on a busy weekend.
There is a very nice atmosphere here and each time I’ve been, everyone has been very polite and friendly, with nobody rushing other people to finish taking their photos.
You’ll nearly always have to queue to get a photo with one of the photo props, but people are very respectful and considerate when you’re trying to get photos.
They’ll stand out of the way and wait for you to finish taking your photos, and will even help you take photos of yourself if you’re on your own and you ask nicely!
Even though there’s nearly always a queue, don’t feel self-conscious about people looking at you posing for photos!
Most of the time people aren’t even looking, and many people who come here love posing for Instagrammable photos, so there’s no need to feel silly!
During the Spring Cherry Blossom Festival, S&R Orchard is open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Visiting either at opening time or close to closing time will hopefully ensure you experience fewer crowds.
Food & Amenities At The Cherry Blossoms Spring Festival, S&R Orchard
Picnic Areas
If you plan to stay at S&R Orchard Perth for a couple of hours or more, you may wish to bring your own picnic and enjoy it amongst the cherry blossom trees in the orchard.
Then once you’ve enjoyed getting your photos, feel free to pop down your rug and picnic basket and relax amongst the pink cherry blossoms when you’re ready for food.
There are plenty of lovely spots amongst the orchard trees to relax and enjoy the scenic beauty! It’s a large orchard so there is plenty of space to spread out, relax and enjoy your picnic away from the crowds and photo props.
Food Stalls
At the weekends, there are also over 20 food vans at S&R Orchard for you to choose from, so if you didn’t pack your own picnic you can enjoy the food and drinks from the many different food vans!
There are plenty of tables and chairs for you to sit and enjoy your food.
Plus, if you just fancy something small, there’s also a coffee stand and an ice cream stand, as well as some fresh fruit produce picked from other parts of the orchard for you to purchase.
S&R Orchard is dog friendly, so bring along your furry friend on a leash so they can enjoy the S&R Orchard Cherry Blossom Festival too!
S&R Orchard is also wheelchair accessible. There are also some portaloos onsite.
The S&R Orchard Cherry Blossom Spring Festival in Perth is a great place to capture both stunning and fun photographs of the Instaworthy floral props and cherry blossom trees, enjoy delicious food, and enjoy the best of the Perth Hills.
It’s a great alternative if you can’t get to Japan for the sakura season, and it makes for a great day out in Perth whether you’re visiting the city or you live in Perth.
Cherry Blossom Trees In Perth Photography Tips
If you’re looking to capture the beauty of the cherry blossom flowers, some tips are to visit in the early morning or late afternoon, when the soft warm light enhances the colours and adds a bit of magic to your photos.
You may want to use a macro lens (or zoom on your phone) to get some nice close-up shots of the delicate blossoms.
Alternatively, you may want to experiment using a wide aperture or portrait mode to create a soft, out-of-focus background, which will highlight the sharp details of the flowers in focus.
It’s also fun to experiment with different angles, perspectives and heights to find unique compositions.
Autumn Festival At S&R Orchard Perth
If you can’t make it to S&R’s Spring Cherry Blossoms Festival, or you’ve been already and want to come back in a different season, the Autumn Festival at S&R Orchard is another great experience and fun day out!
Unlike the Spring Cherry Blossom where S&R Orchard is open every day for three weeks, with the Autumn Festival, the orchard is only to the public over 3 weekends from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. It is not open during weekdays.
The dates are usually the last two weekends in May and the first weekend in June, with the festival ending on the WA Day public holiday weekend.
Similar photo props are used for the Autumn Festival, but instead of the props being in floral pinks they’ll be in autumnal colours!
Entry to the S&R Autumn Festival is the same price as the Cherry Blossom Festival: $12 for adults, $5 for children, and free for children under 3 years old.
In addition to the photo props, animal farm, bouncy castle and tractor rides – which are all free, you can pay $5 for the teacup ride or Ferris wheel.
Summer Fruits Festival At S&R Orchard
There won’t be any fruits on the trees during the Cherry Blossom Festival or Autumn Festival that are available to pick, but if you’re keen to do some fruit picking, come back for the Fruit Picking Festival!
Throughout the weekends from December to March, you can pick fruit such as nectarines, peaches, plums and apricots at the S&R Orchard Fruit Picking Festival.
Entrance is $10 for adults and $5 for children. The price includes a 2kg bag of fruit that you’re able to take home, plus you’re able to eat all the fruit you want from the trees whilst you’re there!
Christmas Festival At S&R Orchard
S&R Orchard is transformed into a Christmas wonderland for two weeks during the Christmas period! There are plenty of Christmas-themed photo props to enjoy, and entry is $10 for adults and $5 for children.
Outside of the festival seasons, the S&R Orchard is closed to the public.
Whether you visit the S&R Orchard just for one season or for all of them, this is a place where you can have a great day out full of good energy and great photos!
Things To Do Near S&R Orchard In The Perth Hills
After enjoying the breathtaking cherry blossoms and the photo props at S&R Orchard, you may wish to make a day of it and explore other attractions in the area, such as:
Local Vineyards
The Perth Hills region is known for its vineyards and wineries.
There are also plenty of vineyards nearby in the Bickley Valley – Plume Estate Vineyard, Brookside Vineyard, La Fattoria, The Packing Shed and Millbrook Winery all have great tasting sessions.
Other Nearby Orchards
If you are looking for other orchards in the Perth Hills, check out Carmel Cider Co and Core Cider House!
The Perth Observatory
The Perth Observatory – the oldest Observatory in Western Australia is located in nearby Bickley. There are some really great night sky tours you can do here.
Zig-Zag Scenic Drive
Also close to the S&R Orchard is the Zig-zag scenic drive, which offers stunning sunset views of Perth.
The road is a zig-zag shape, as the name suggests, and kangaroos often come out around sunset, so pay attention and drive slowly as the road is very winding.
Lesmurdie Falls
Also nearby is the biggest waterfall in the Perth Hills – Lesmurdie Falls. At 40 metres high, this waterfall is one of the most impressive waterfalls in the Darling Range escarpment and can be enjoyed from the top or the bottom of the falls.
There are some really good walks nearby, plus great views of Perth CBD from the platforms.
Kalamunda
The charming town of Kalamunda is just a couple of kilometres away from S&R Orchard.
It has some nice pubs which make for a great place to stop for some food, plus it hosts the the famous Kalamunda Artisan Markets on the first Saturday of every month, which has over 170 stalls, as well as the Kalamunda Farmers Markets every Sunday from 8 am-midday, so it’s definitely worth a stop!
Araluen Botanic Park
Araluen Botanic Park, located in Roleystone is another place that is great to visit in September as it hosts the Springtime Tulip Festival, featuring over 150,000 tulips and over 36,000 other spring blooms!
