5 treasures in Shepherds Hill Recreation Park

With 360-degree views of the Ade­laide coast­line, hills and plains, Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park is a sub­ur­ban retreat with a difference.

Just 11 kilo­me­tres south of the CBD, the park has a nice blend of dog-friend­ly walk­ing trails, open spaces for the kids to run around, and stun­ning flo­ra and fauna.

We asked Senior Ranger Eric de Smit and mem­bers of the Friends of Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park vol­un­teer group to share some insid­er tips for park-goers to check out on their next visit.

1. Moun­tain bik­ing spots

You can’t go to Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park and not be in awe of the exten­sive moun­tain bik­ing set-up on offer. There’s some­thing for every bike enthu­si­ast – whether you’re a begin­ner to moun­tain bik­ing, a pro who’s rar­ing to hit the trails, or you’ve got your kids in tow. There’s a spe­cial­ly-designed Kid’s Zone to help young ones prac­tise rid­ing on dirt, a pump track for the more dar­ing pun­ters, and 16 kilo­me­tres of trails. Just remem­ber, these are shared use trails, so keep an eye out for walk­ers, jog­gers and even horse-riders.

2. Icon­ic flora

The park’s endan­gered Grey Box grassy wood­land is a pop­u­lar draw­card for plant-lovers, being one of the few remain­ing wood­lands of its type in South Aus­tralia. Not only are the majes­tic Grey Box trees a won­der to look at, but their hol­lows are a haven for kook­abur­ras, galahs and rosel­las. Don’t over­look the Red Gums along the creek edge, many of which are hun­dreds of years old, or the dor­mant moss lin­ing the ground, which springs to life when it gets wet.

3. Stun­ning views

Get your walk­ing shoes on and head towards the Seav­iew Loop, where your efforts will pay off with a pic­turesque view of Adelaide’s CBD to the north and Hal­lett Cove beach to the west. If you park in the Ayliffes Road carpark and fol­low the walk­ing track towards the Seav­iew Loop, then fol­low the Loop 1.3 kilo­me­tres in an anti-clock­wise direc­tion you’ll reach a scenic van­tage point. You’ll build up quite a sweat to get there but the view makes it total­ly worth it. There’s a memo­r­i­al bench in hon­our of the late Mag­gy Rag­less who was a valu­able mem­ber of the Friends of Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park group and the local his­to­ri­an in Mitcham. It’s per­fect­ly posi­tioned for you to pause and reflect on the beau­ty that sur­rounds you.

4. Wildlife wonders

If bird watch­ing is your cup of tea, then get those binoc­u­lars ready. See if you can spot a kook­abur­ra, fairy wren, rain­bow lori­keet or a galah. Look high and low and see what oth­er wildlife you can spot. Whether it’s a west­ern grey kan­ga­roo, a stumpy lizard or a frog, this is def­i­nite­ly a park where you want your cam­era handy.

5. Recre­ation activities

There’s a good rea­son why this park is labelled a Recre­ation Park – and that’s the long list of fun activ­i­ties on offer. It’s the stomp­ing ground for the Mar­i­on Rid­ing Club, as well as the archery field of the Eden Field Archers. Beware if you see the red flags dis­played in the archery sec­tion of the park, that’s when it’s in use and out of bounds for park-goers. If you’re not keen to join one of these clubs, take your pick of hik­ing, dog-walk­ing, moun­tain-bik­ing or laid-back pic­nick­ing – what­ev­er suits your pace.

Through­out the month of March Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park is being cel­e­brat­ed as the Park of Month – an ini­tia­tive betweenNature Play South Aus­traliaand DEW.

Main image cour­tesy of Jason Tyn­dall, Nature Play South Australia.