A 20min drive from Orange, this small picnic spot part way up Mount Canobolas is a peaceful place to recharge with a snack and enjoy views before you set out on local walks.

Breathe in the fresh country air as you spread your lunch out on a picnic table beneath red stringybark and peppermint trees. Feast your eyes on the city of Orange below, and rolling hills stretching as far as your eye can see. From here you can also see the summit of Mount Canobolas, a dormant volcano.

The best time to come for wildflower displays is spring when the snowgrass understory bursts into life with blooms of violet kunzea, yam daisies, bacon and egg plants and ground orchids.

Bring your binoculars and keep an eye out for endangered flame robins with brilliant orange-red breasts, and crimson rosellas. If you come around dusk, you may hear the haunting call of the boobook owl or the chatter of sugar gliders.

From here there are plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs. The trailhead for Spring Glade walking track is just 1km up the road. Climb this track to the top of Mount Canobolas, then link up to Summits...