5 things to do in South Australia’s national parks these school holidays

School hol­i­days aren’t just for the kids to chill out – they’re also a chance for you to take some­time out and spend some qual­i­ty time with the lit­tle peo­ple in your life.

But think­ing of fun ideas can be a task in itself. If there’s only so many ​‘kid­dy’ activ­i­ties thaty­ou can han­dle, then you might need to look fur­ther afield.

Vis­it­ing a nation­al park can work won­ders for your own well­be­ing, and there’s end­less activ­i­ties for the­lit­tle ones to enjoy. Or bet­ter yet, for you to do together.

Here’s five school hol­i­day ideas for kids – and grown-ups – to enjoy, all with­in a stone’sthrow of Adelaide.

1. Moun­tain bik­ing at Shep­herds Hill

Dust off the bikes and give The Bowl – Pump Track a go at Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park. This moun­tain bik­ing area has been designed with small chil­dren in mind, mak­ing it ide­al for kids learn­ing to ride on dirt.

There’s small jumps to try and bridges to ride along, with the track wind­ing through a majes­tic Grey Box­wood­land. Either get on your bike and join in too, or sim­ply sit back and unwind in this scenic park.

When the kids – or you – have mas­tered the Pump Track, you’reready to ven­ture onto some more of the inter­me­di­ate trails in the park. Just remem­ber to pack your helmets.

Inter­est­ed in vis­it­ing? Read 5 hid­den trea­sures in Shepard’s Hill Recre­ation Park.

2. Mori­al­ta water­falls and walks

Take a 45-minute stroller-acces­si­ble walk in Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park to see the tru­ly spec­tac­u­lar waterfalls. 

Now’s is the per­fect­time to see water tum­bling 30 metres from the top of this pic­turesque land­mark in this pop­u­lar park.

If you’re stroller-free and the kids are a lit­tle old­er, why not tack­lethe 1.5 hour Mori­altaFalls Plateau Hike.

This trail takes you to the top of First Falls, over­look­ing Mori­al­ta Gorge. Along the­way you can also take the steep 60-step climb to the remark­able Giants Cave, which is always a pop­u­lar space forkids to check out.

Inter­est­ed in vis­it­ing? Read 5 hid­den trea­sures at Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park.

3. Belair Adven­ture Playground

Let the kids explore an active won­der­land at Belair Nation­al Park’s adven­ture play­ground while you grab a hot drink from the foodtruck (gen­er­al­ly open week­ends, pub­lic hol­i­days and school hol­i­days: 10.30am – 3.30pm).

Be sure to check out the adult-size wood­en fort and maze of tun­nels, per­fect for a game of chasey orhide-and-seek. Make a day of it and spend time explor­ing ther­est of the park too.

4. Fam­i­ly fun day at Para Wirra

Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park has a lot more than meets the eye. Exam­ine mini-beasts and water-bugs at ParaWirra Lake, but don’t for­get to put them back. 

Col­lect dif­fer­ent-shaped leaves to trace around and cre­ate your own myth­i­cal ani­mals and explore the cub­bies made from fall­en branch­es that are dot­ted around the park.

Inter­est­ed in vis­it­ing? Read 5 trea­sures of Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park.

5. Mount Lofty Sum­mit views and near­by walks in Cle­land Con­ser­va­tion Park

Enjoy the views at Mount Lofty Sum­mit before hav­ing a wan­der along the 1 kilo­me­tre Dis­cov­ery Walk in Cle­land Con­ser­va­tion Park.

You’ll find the direc­tions on the sig­nage next to The­Sum­mit Café, or be pre­pared and look­it up before you go. 

Along the way, take a few moments to be still in your sur­rounds, and ask the kids top­ut their best lis­ten­ing ears on to hear the calls of some of the res­i­dent birdlife. 

Why not bring binoc­u­lars and­see if you can spot them too? 

If you’ve got time on your hands, there’s plen­ty of things to keep you busy at Cle­land Con­ser­va­tion Park.

Nation­al Parks are a great place to spend qual­i­ty time in nature. For a full list­ing of all of SouthAustralia’s parks, includ­ing details about facil­i­ties, park­ing and entry fees, vis­it theweb­site.

Main image cour­tesy of Jason Tyn­dall, Nature Play SA.

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in July 2017.