Attractions

A moderately challenging 2.1km loop track starting at Paradise Park. The trail climbs up through huge granite boulders to a narrow gap in the rocks — the "Eye of the Needle" — which walkers pass through on the way to the summit and its views over the surrounding hills.

A volunteer-run museum based in Murrurundi's former Literary Institute on Mayne Street, a brick building erected in the early 1900s on the site of the town's earlier Court of Petty Sessions and watch house. The complex also includes a relocated 1889 timber settler's cottage and a former Presbyterian church hall used for rotating exhibitions, together holding a large collection of local artefacts and historical photographs. Opening hours are limited and volunteer-run, so it's worth checking ahead before visiting.

Murrurundi's historic general cemetery, on the corner of Polding, Abbott and O'Connell Streets, was set aside around 1846 by Thomas Haydon as part of his private subdivision of the township, then known as Haydonton. It was originally administered by trustees for the Church of England, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations before passing to local council, and it remains the town's principal burial ground today — a peaceful spot reflecting nearly two centuries of local history.

The newer, non-denominational section of the Polding Street cemetery grounds, sitting alongside the historic Murrurundi General Cemetery. Unlike the older section's upright Victorian-era headstones, it uses flat lawn-style memorial plaques and includes a columbarium wall for cremated remains. It is owned and maintained by Upper Hunter Shire Council and remains in active use today.

A visitor information centre and community connect service for the town, run by Upper Hunter Shire Council on Mayne Street. A good first stop for maps, local advice and details on attractions, accommodation and events around Murrurundi.

A heritage complex on Murulla Street comprising the Court House, Police Station and old Gaol. The original courthouse was a temporary structure built in 1840 after reports of bushrangers escaping capture prompted the government to fund a courthouse and lock-up for the town; it was rebuilt in 1842, then again in 1860–61 to a design by colonial architect Alexander Dawson, blending Gothic and Italianate details in sandstone and brick. A sergeant's residence was added to the site in the 1890s.

The picnic area at the base of the Eye of the Needle walk. It has shelters, barbecues and toilets, and is a good spot for birdwatching — wallabies are often seen around dusk.

A sandstone church on Polding Street — named after Archbishop John Bede Polding, who consecrated it — built on land donated by pioneer settler Thomas Haydon, who had earlier had a timber chapel built on the same site. The present church was completed in 1860 and remains an active parish church within the Catholic Diocese of Maitland–Newcastle.

A sandstone Gothic Revival church on Mount Street, designed by noted architect John Horbury Hunt. The foundation stone was laid on 24 April 1873, the building opened on 24 June 1874, and it was consecrated on 13 October 1877 — replacing an earlier timber church that had served the parish since the 1840s. Its tower was completed in 1913 as a memorial to Frederick White, and the church still houses an 1876 organ built by William Davidson of Sydney.

A small pedestrian suspension bridge and one of the town's best-known landmarks, dating back to before the First World War.