Counting down to our top metro park

A sur­vey asked peo­ple which nation­al parks they had vis­it­ed in the greater Ade­laide area recent­ly. Here are the gor­geous parks that made it into the Top 5.

5. Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park

Land­ing in the num­ber 5 spot was Shep­herds Hill Recre­ation Park. This park, locat­ed 11 kilo­me­tres south of Ade­laide, has some unex­pect­ed attrac­tions. The park fea­tures an old rail­way tun­nel, the remains of a viaduct, an archery range and a pony club. There are also a num­ber of options for cyclists includ­ing a bicy­cle jumps track. Vis­i­tors can enjoy 360-degree views of the sur­round­ing Ade­laide plains, coast­line and hills.

4. Brown­hill Creek Recre­ation Park

Tak­ing out fourth posi­tion in the sur­vey was Brown­hill Creek Recre­ation Park. This is a pop­u­lar bush­land recre­ation area sit­u­at­ed only 8km from Ade­laide. The park’s nar­row creek flows through a steep sided val­ley fea­tur­ing majes­tic riv­er red gums, some more than 300 years old. The 51-hectare park includes a horse trail, fenced horse exer­cise area and cycling trails.

3. Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park

Com­ing in at num­ber 3 on the list was Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park, a place of rugged ridges, gul­ly scenery and stun­ning water­falls. The three water­falls along Fourth Creek are high­lights of this park and they are linked by exten­sive walk­ing trails. This year marks the 100-year anniver­sary of the procla­ma­tion of Mori­al­ta Falls as a Nation­al Plea­sure Resort – a series of com­mu­ni­ty events will be held to cel­e­brate this milestone. 

2. Cle­land Nation­al Park

In the num­ber 2 spot was Cle­land Nation­al Park, which fea­tures the pop­u­lar Cle­land Wildlife Park, Mount Lofty Sum­mit and scenic Water­fall Gul­ly. The park, locat­ed 22km south-east of Ade­laide, includes a fan­tas­tic net­work of walk­ing trails offer­ing a chance to meet diverse wildlife and enjoy spec­tac­u­lar views. Cle­land Nation­al Park is also a great place to cycle.

1. Belair Nation­al Park

And now for the drum­roll! Com­ing in at num­ber 1 on the sur­vey was Belair Nation­al Park, which attracts about 250,000 vis­i­tors annu­al­ly. This park, locat­ed 13km south-east of Ade­laide, is set with­in beau­ti­ful nat­ur­al bush­land and fea­tures numer­ous walk­ing trails, pic­nic areas and ten­nis courts. Belair Nation­al Park is home to sig­nif­i­cant her­itage attrac­tions includ­ing Old Gov­ern­ment House and the State Flo­ra Nursery.

For a reminder of which parks in greater Ade­laide fea­tured in spots 6 – 10 on the list, read part 1 of the results.

Feel free to share your com­ments about your favourite South Aus­tralian parks.

Pho­to: Belair Nation­al Park.