10 things to see and do at Morialta Conservation Park

For more than 100 years, Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park has been a well-loved recre­ation­al escape, offer­ing plen­ty to see and do for every­one. The park is locat­ed just 10 kilo­me­tres east of Adelaide’s city cen­tre, but its wood­lands, gorges, gul­lies and stun­ning water­falls will make you feel miles away.

The name ​‘Mori­al­ta’ comes from the Kau­r­na phrase ​‘mori­at­ta’, mean­ing ​‘ever-flow­ing’ – which is fit­ting, con­sid­er­ing the park’s three strik­ing water­falls. The falls are linked by three hik­ing trails. If you want to see all three falls, pre­pare for a 7.5 km hike, which will take approx­i­mate­ly four hours.

The park offers a range of fam­i­ly-friend­ly fea­tures – includ­ing the brand new Mukan­thi nature play space. Designed by Climb­ing Tree and Peter Sem­ple Land­scape Archi­tects, the play space has been cre­at­ed out of nat­ur­al mate­ri­als and is set to inspire and chal­lenge chil­dren while con­nect­ing them with nature. You can climb the Birds Nest, dis­cov­er an Abo­rig­i­nal fire pit at Frog Island, find the secret tun­nel at Great Snake, and reach the peak at Eagles Perch.

Mori­al­ta is also the per­fect place to awak­en your adven­tur­ous side with a spot of rock climb­ing. It’s one of the most pop­u­lar spots in the state for it, with climbs that vary in dif­fi­cul­ty and impres­sive views to behold.

Or if relax­ation is more your thing, enjoy a pic­nic and keep an ear or an eye out for the wildlife around you. Every day there are inter­est­ing fau­na sight­ings report­ed, includ­ing threat­ened species such as the chest­nut-rumped heath­wren and Cunningham’s skink.

Mori­al­ta is great to vis­it all year round, but to see the falls at their best, vis­it the park this spring to see the water flow at its strongest and orchids and wild­flow­ers at their brightest.

Here are 10 ways to explore Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park pre­pared for you by the park’s pas­sion­ate rangers and Nature Play SA:

1. Walk the Mori­al­ta Falls Plateau Hike and enjoy the view of First Falls from Eagles Nest Look­out. Keep an eye out for the Aus­tralian paint­ed lady but­ter­flies as they flut­ter along the path.

2. Explore the new Mukan­thi nature play space, climb up eagles nest and take the slide back down.
   

3. Have a pic­nic on the lawn near Strad­broke Road and make use of the free bar­be­cue facilities. 

4. Bring your cam­era and take pho­tos of the local wildlife such as koalas, kan­ga­roos, lizards and birds.

5. When stand­ing at Eagles Nest Look­out see who can ​‘coo-ee’ the loudest.

6. For a more chal­leng­ing adven­ture, go beyond Deep View Look­out up Rocky Hill Track. Keep an eye out for the orchids such as dwarf green­hoods and king spi­der orchids.

7. Cross the creek onto Frog Island in the Mukan­thi nature play space and see how many tad­poles you can spot.

8. Enter via Gate 19 off Mon­ta­cute Road and walk up Fox Hill Track to see the yel­low flow­ers of the gold­en wattle.

9. Start a walk from Strad­broke Road pic­nic area and count how many kook­abur­ras you can see and hear along the way.

10. Bring a torch and go on the Mori­al­ta Falls Val­ley Walk at night to catch a glimpse of the local noc­tur­nal wildlife such as ring­tail pos­sums and Gould’s wat­tled bat.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find at Morialta:

Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park 

Vis­it­ing Morialta

Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park is a pop­u­lar place to vis­it. Read our safe­ty tips before you go, to make sure your vis­it is an enjoy­able one.

Park of the Month:

Through­out Octo­ber, Black Hill Con­ser­va­tion Park and Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park are being cel­e­brat­ed as the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vicePark of the Month. There are lots of events and activ­i­ties to get involved in, find out more.