Five things to see on the Silo Art Trail

Seven enormous grain silos, 1,704 litres of paint, and 1000km ribboning through outback Western Australia have combined to form the country’s first, and largest silo trail, the PUBLIC Silo Trail.

Find the tallest mural at Northam, measuring 38 metres high and stretching across eight silos. See the world’s biggest banksias at Ravensthorpe, which the artist painted over 31 days.

Discover how the trail has enlivened rural communities with café, food trucks, and a swanky, five-star hotel. Here are some of the towns you’ll see along the way.

1. Northam

After gazing at the first silos painted in WA – top to bottom in vibrant colours and shimmering patterns - head to the Bilya Koort Boodja indigenous centre, which opened in 2018. The interactive museum tells the story of WA’s Noongar people within an arresting, architectural building, designed to lead you through its curved surfaces.

2. Dumbleyung

Situated between silo stops, this progressive outpost has an incubator shopping space that’s worth stopping to admire. All sorts of locally made treasures are sold in the Dumbleyung Mini Mall. If you’re still there towards sunset, drive to nearby Lake Dumbleyung and park at Pussy Cat Hill lookout, the area’s highest point, to admire the colour wheel of pinks staining the sky.

3. Newdegate

You don’t expect to find a food truck in a country town, but Happy Little Caravan is right at home serving coffee, smoothies, toasted sandwiches, wraps, and more. Check out the native species painted large on Newdegate’s silos – a western bearded lizard, thigh spotted tree frog, mallee fowl, and red-tailed phascogale – then pop into the Hainsworth Museum (open Thursdays 11am - 4.30pm), which bears a carefully recreated 1950s general store; they’ve even reprinted the labels on the rosella tomato ketchup to be authentic.

4. Merredin

Because of its unique location at a point where the track to the Goldfields met up with a reliable water supply, Merredin has developed into the most substantial town in the Central Wheat Belt with loads to offer! The town itself has quite a number of great cafes and restaurants and we highly recommend catching a show at Cummins Theatre. This cultural hub is housed in one of the oldest buildings in the shire and has been running for over 9 decades! Be sure to check on their website for any upcoming shows - you'll be in for a treat!

5. Ravensthorpe

Ravensthorpe or ‘Ravy’ is known for its extraordinary wildflowers, so it’s fitting that its silos are covered with 25m-high, geometric-style banksias, complete with a native bird drinking the flowers’ nectar. Tie your trip in with the annual Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, which runs each September, or set aside time to explore the eastern end of Fitzgerald River National Park near Hopetoun, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that’s mostly accessible with a 2WD. East Mount Barren lookout – even from the carpark - is a particular highlight.