How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

Want to make the most of your vis­it to this icon­ic park? We’ve got you cov­ered with this one-day itinerary.

Locat­ed at the begin­ning of the Ade­laide Hills, Mori­al­ta and Black Hill con­ser­va­tion parks are pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tions with local and not-so local visitors.

Enjoy the rocky ridges, gul­ly scenery and flow­ing water­falls that make up Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park, or the var­i­ous walk­ing trails at Black Hill Con­ser­va­tion Park. The trails through­out both parks take you past a wide vari­ety of flo­ra that offer a stun­ning dis­play of native flowers.

This itin­er­ary cov­ers how to spend a day in nature in these two parks – from explor­ing trails that aren’t filled with crowds to walk­ing up the many steps to Giants Cave, there’s plen­ty to keep you busy.

How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

Morn­ing:

Start your day ear­ly at Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park to avoid the crowds and walk along the First Falls Walk. 

This trail fol­lows Fourth Creek with­in the Mori­al­ta Gorge and is a short, enjoy­able walk for peo­ple of all ages and phys­i­cal abilities. 

Along the way you can view wildlife in the large gum trees, includ­ing koalas and plen­ty of bird life.

The trail zig-zags across the creek pass­ing over the board­walks – or if you have your gum boots on you can explore with­in the creek itself across eight vehi­cle fords. 

Along the way, be sure to climb up to Giants Cave and see who can give the loud­est ​‘coo-ee!’

Fol­low­ing this, why not try one of the many hikes? Try the Mori­al­ta Falls Plateau Hike and take in the impres­sive views of First Falls and Sec­ond Falls from Kook­abur­ra Rock and Deep View Lookouts. 

You can also access the top of First Falls where you can watch the water plum­met to the val­ley below. This is par­tic­u­lar­ly impres­sive in the win­ter when the water is flow­ing at its strongest. 

Allow two hours to stop and take in all the sites on this walk.

How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

Chas­ing water­falls? Read 5 of South Australia’s water­fall-wor­thy nation­al parks to find more. 

Lunch:

When you’ve made it back from your hike, or if you have young chil­dren to enter­tain, enjoy a pic­nic lunch around the Mukan­thi Play­space off of Strad­broke Road. 

The play­space com­pris­es a large lawned pic­nic area with elec­tric BBQs to use and is an ide­al loca­tion to sit back and relax or kick a footy around. 

The award-win­ning nature-themed play­ground offers five fan­tas­tic main attrac­tions that will keep the kids occu­pied for hours.

How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

Want to dis­cov­er more play­grounds in nation­al parks? Read 3 nature play spaces to try these school holidays.

After­noon:

After lunch, jump in the car and head to Black Hill Con­ser­va­tion Park, which offers fan­tas­tic bush­land, and choose a walk to suit your time and abilities. 

For a chal­leng­ing hike take the Sum­mit Trail, accessed by Addi­son Avenue, which will reward you with stun­ning views. For a short­er, less chal­leng­ing hike, why not explore the Ambers Gul­ly Trail from Gorge Road.

If you’d like a more relax­ing stroll, try to spot kan­ga­roos by explor­ing the flat areas near Ever­est Track and Ghost Tree Gul­ly Track, or mean­der through the Wild­flower Gar­den trails and sit and enjoy the qui­et and lis­ten out for bird calls, both accessed from Addi­son Avenue. 

How to spend a day in South Australia’s Morialta and Black Hill Conservation Parks

Things to pre­pare before you go: 

It’s a good idea to down­load the Aven­za Maps app and down­load the park maps before you head off. 

When you’re in the park, the app will use your phone’s built-in GPS to plot your real-time loca­tion onto a map – even when you don’t have inter­net reception.

Make sure you pack enough drink­ing water and food as there are no shops locat­ed with­in the park, how­ev­er there are BBQ and pic­nic facilities. 

It’s also a good idea to pack sun pro­tec­tion (a hat, sun­glass­es and sun­screen) and insect repel­lent. If you’re plan­ning on hik­ing, it’s also essen­tial you wear suit­able footwear and cloth­ing, such as long pants. 

New to hik­ing? Read 8 things to take on a hike in South Australia’s nation­al parks.

Want to know more about these parks? Read our Ranger tips sto­ry by Park Ranger Steph Cole. 

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.

This con­tent was pro­duced in part­ner­ship with  Good Living