Private land experiences in the Perth Hills

Rhan'z Barn runs a Highland cattle herd at Bullsbrook, north of Perth, and sells something few WA properties do: time with the animals themselves as a bookable product in its own right, separate from a night's stay. That's the Highland Cow Experience — a guided session on the property where you get hands-on with the herd: brushing, feeding and cuddling animals ranging from curious calves through to full-grown adults, with room built in for photos and a real explanation of how a Highland herd is kept day to day. The farm carries registration #1537 with the Australian Highland Society, and the tour is sold on its own terms — what you're booking is the encounter, not a room. A room is available too, with farm stay accommodation on the same property, and the paddocks double as a venue for birthdays, proposals and weddings, with a shaggy-coated Highland or two added to the guest list. For an animal encounter within reach of Perth that isn't behind zoo glass — an actual working herd and time spent among them — Rhan'z Barn is close to the only one of its kind in the state.

Kangaroo Valley Homestead is a well-appointed homestead on five acres of native bushland at Stoneville in the Perth Hills, where wild kangaroos actually move through the grounds rather than being an advertising line. The acreage is small but the experience isn't: guests can bathe in outdoor stone baths with nothing but bush sounds around them, take a gourmet picnic into the orchard, the rose garden or the bushland, and eat outdoors while kangaroos graze nearby on the estate. Celebrations have their own dedicated space in the property's Galah Bar. It works day and night: stay over in the homestead's suites, or come up for the day for a picnic or an event in the Galah Bar. John Forrest National Park's walking trails are a short distance away for anyone who wants more ground than five acres covers. For a Perth Hills stay under an hour from the city with kangaroos at the fence line, stone baths under open sky and food handled properly, Kangaroo Valley Homestead does far more with its acreage than the number suggests.

A pick-your-own orchard at Bedfordale in the Perth Hills growing fruit rarely attempted by WA orchards - persimmons, cherry kiwi, longans, lychees, dragonfruit and custard apples. Picking sessions run by booking on Saturdays through the March-to-July season at $8 a kilo, rounded out by a farm shop, coffee van and resident animals.

An equestrian estate on Elliott Road in Chidlow, in the Perth Hills five minutes from Mundaring, run by appointment only. Riding is taught from tiny tots through to advanced, horses are trained from groundwork to performance, and the estate runs equine-assisted therapy and wellness sessions. Pony stable parties, corporate equine-leadership days and privately hosted events also run on site.

A biodynamic orchard at Pickering Brook, 35 minutes from Perth, that's been growing organic fruit since 1939 and calls itself WA's "Big Apple." Its orchards roll out against state forest, and the on-site Core Cider House pours the orchard's own ciders on tap with preserves, tasting plates and house-made cakes, open Friday to Sunday.

A family farmstay on 12 acres at Hovea in the Perth Hills, about 30km from Perth, with hosts living on site. Mornings start with feeding the animals, hayrides are on offer, and pony rides can be booked by appointment, while walking and bike trails lead straight from the farm gate into the adjoining forest.

Tucked into its own jarrah forest at Pickering Brook, thirty minutes from Perth, Hidden Valley is an adults-only luxury retreat built around self-contained lodges and an on-site day spa. Each lodge comes with a private outdoor heated jacuzzi, a king bed and a log fire, while the spa runs couples treatments and gourmet dining is served in-lodge.

Anapana Ridge is a jarrah-built retreat centre and function venue on five acres of bushland at Lesmurdie in the Perth Hills, under thirty minutes from Perth. It hosts corporate offsites, church and community groups, and family celebrations, with homestyle catering for up to thirty guests, a below-ground pool in summer, a year-round hot spa, and on-site accommodation.

A bushland group camp in Perth's foothills at Wattle Grove, fifteen minutes from the airport. It's been running for years, with contemporary facilities layered onto that history — dormitories, youth huts, caravan and camping sites, a commercial kitchen and a 600-seat auditorium — and hosts school, community and church groups of 10 to 200.

Sawyers Valley Retreat is a purpose-built corporate retreat venue in the bush 45 minutes from Perth, pitched as the antidote to awkward icebreakers and beige buffets. Bring the goals and the team here shapes the format and runs the day, hosting strategy sessions, leadership resets and team alignment days in a bushland setting built for focus.

A small-batch craft distillery at Lake Nenia in the Perth Hills, making Saprock Spirits — vodka, gin, limoncello and coffee liqueur — from mineral-rich filtered water drawn from beneath the granite. Visits are strictly by appointment.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy's first sanctuary, established in 1991 — 268 feral-proof hectares at Chidlow protecting woylies, quendas and other species extinct almost everywhere else, alongside tammar wallabies and threatened black cockatoos. Guided walks let visitors see the bush the way it was, an hour from Perth.

Raeburn Orchards is a family orchard at Roleystone in the Perth Hills, growing table fruit on the same ground since 1948 and now in its third generation of Casotti family ownership. Visitors come for the orchard walk, coffee at Coffee @ the Shed and browsing at the Raeburn Collective gift store, and the property also hosts events and functions among the fruit trees.

An adults-only health retreat and spa purpose-built in the Perth Hills at Mundaring, offering eight distinct programs — stress-free, forest-walk, weight-loss, detox, yoga, mother-daughter, Ikigai and day retreats — each designed as a proper escape from city life.

A heart-led 90-acre farm experience at Gidgegannup in the Perth Hills, less than an hour from Perth. Krissy's much-loved menagerie of Highland cattle, playful Mini Moos, miniature donkeys, goats, alpacas and rescued farm animals stars in private farm tours, hands-on monthly workshops and professional on-farm photography sessions.

A performance-horse training operation based at "Highfield" in Mount Helena, run by trainer Sophie Warren. The property hosts lessons, lectures and clinics for eventing riders, from foundation work through to competition prep.

A Swan Valley riding school at Henley Brook offering affordable one-on-one lessons — no group classes or one-off sessions — on safe, well-schooled horses, for complete beginners through to developing riders aged 5 to 18 (adult lessons coming soon). Beyond riding, students learn how to care for and be around horses, and holiday programs run through the school breaks.

A small riding school at Middle Swan in the Swan Valley, run by NCAS Level 1-qualified coach Monique Caddies ("Moo"), currently working toward Level 2. Lessons are private and casual, with no term commitment or joining fees — ride quiet, well-schooled academy ponies or bring your own horse.

A lakeside wellness studio in the rolling hills of Bedfordale in the Perth Hills, running sound baths, yoga, meditation, counselling and retreats — a tranquil place to quiet a busy mind, immersed in nature.

Yoga in harmony with nature at Bedfordale in the Perth Hills, set on ten acres of bushland around a seasonal creek — regular classes through the week, retreats, Hatha teacher training, healing circles and sound journeys, with a yoga-ecology thread running through it. More a place to gather than a studio.

A family-owned reptile and wildlife park in the Perth Hills at Henley Brook, built from Gane Doyle Snr's lifelong passion for reptiles and wildlife. Home to lizards, pythons and venomous snakes alongside native animals including dingoes, emus and a hairy-nosed wombat, with education and conservation programs teaching visitors to safely coexist with local wildlife.

A Perth Hills estate at Bickley, pairing rustic restaurant dining with cellar-door tastings of its own award-winning wines, gins and liqueurs, plus private events held among the vineyards.

A not-for-profit, volunteer-run wildlife sanctuary in the Perth Hills at Lesmurdie, caring for sick, injured and orphaned native animals — from barn owls and possums to bilbies and pythons — alongside rehabilitation work, breeding programs for threatened species and community education. Bookable public experiences include discovery and nocturnal tours, early-morning bird walks, and meet-and-greet sessions, plus packages for schools and corporate groups.

An all-weather family farm at Henley Brook in the Swan Valley where visitors bottle- and bucket-feed and cuddle lambs, goats, piglets and other farmyard animals, with tractor rides, a bouncy castle and playground on site. A fixture for school excursions, birthday parties, playgroups, seniors' outings, corporate events and sporting clubs — and if you can't come to them, their travelling farm visits schools, parties, fetes and shopping centres instead.

Equine & Human Connections (Hills Occupational Therapy): equine assisted learning and therapy sessions with horses in the Perth Hills. Nature-based occupational therapy and a work-skills program.

A 125-acre working cattle farm at Gidgegannup, 25 minutes from Midland, with four campsites among jarrah bush and paddocks and a private 10-acre fenced dog park with a dam and spring.

A not-for-profit therapeutic riding centre at Mt Claremont running term-based equine programs for riders of all abilities, supported by around 75 volunteers a week.