Best Walks in Adelaide: Hills, Trails & Coastal Paths

Adelaide's walking landscape is shaped by two dominant geographic features: the Mount Lofty Ranges rising immediately east of the city (providing foothill and mountain walking within 20-30 minutes of the CBD) and the Gulf St Vincent coastline stretching 30km through the metropolitan area (providing coastal walking from Semaphore to Christies Beach). The Adelaide Hills walking environment is particularly outstanding, with the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty summit being one of Australia's most-walked short tracks and the northern Heysen Trail providing access to the Barossa Range and beyond.

Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty — the signature Adelaide walking track (7km return, graded moderate to hard, with the summit at 727m) begins at the Waterfall Gully car park in Burnside (20 minutes from the CBD) and climbs through First, Second, and Third Falls creek gully to the Mount Lofty summit. The view from Mount Lofty across the Adelaide Plains and the Gulf St Vincent is one of South Australia's finest panoramas. The summit café is an excellent post-walk reward.

Cleland Conservation Park — adjacent to the Mount Lofty summit, the Cleland Conservation Park (home of the Cleland Wildlife Park) provides excellent bush walking in Adelaide Hills scrub and woodland, with the Historic Cleland Settlement Walk and the Waterfall Gully Trail providing 10-15km of well-marked tracks through diverse native vegetation. Koala, wallaby, and platypus are present in the park.

Belair National Park — South Australia's oldest national park (1891), 13km south of Adelaide CBD, provides excellent walking in Adelaide Hills eucalypt woodland. The Old Government House Heritage Walk, the Playford Lake circuit, and the national park's extensive trail network provide 50km+ of maintained walking tracks in a beautiful historic park setting.

Gulf St Vincent Coastal Walk — the Glenelg to Brighton coastal path (8km, graded easy) and the longer West Beach to Semaphore sections provide excellent flat coastal walking along the Gulf St Vincent foreshore, with views across the calm gulf waters to the Yorke Peninsula on clear days. The path is popular with runners and walkers year-round.

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