From easy strolls to epic hikes: Decoding South Australia’s walking track grades

With Grades 1 through to 5, it takes into account fac­tors includ­ing how long the walk is, how steep, the kind of sur­face, haz­ards and signposting.

The South Aus­tralian Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice adopt­ed the Aus­tralian Walk­ing Track Grad­ing Sys­tem in 2022 to pro­vide a con­sis­tent, reli­able way to under­stand walk difficulty.

It’s a sim­ple key to help you choose walks that suit your mood, fit­ness and sense of adventure. 

Learn more and find some great walks of all grades in South Aus­tralian parks, below.

Grade 1

No bush­walk­ing expe­ri­ence required. Flat, even sur­face with no steps or steep sec­tions. Suit­able for wheel­chair users who have some­one to assist them. Walks no greater than 5 km.

Ide­al for easy­go­ing days out, Grade 1 walks are flat, well-formed and easy to follow.

A great exam­ple can be found in Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da – Innes Nation­al Park on the Yorke Penin­su­la, where the 2 km Inneston His­toric Walk fol­lows a flat dirt track through the relics of a once-busy gyp­sum min­ing town. 

You can stay on-site too, with Gate­house Lodge sleep­ing up to six with a dis­abled access bathroom.

Across Inves­ti­ga­tor Strait on Kan­ga­roo Island, the Platy­pus Water­holes Walk in Flinders Chase Nation­al Park links five view­ing plat­forms along a gen­tle circuit. 

Pause at each for a chance to spot a platy­pus – dawn and dusk are your best bet. 

The full 4.5km trail starts at Rocky Riv­er, fol­low­ing a flat wheel­chair-friend­ly board­walk after a short down­hill section. 

Bring lots of water and sun pro­tec­tion as canopy cov­er is still regen­er­at­ing after the 2020 bush­fire. For a short­er loop, start from the trail­head off Shack­le Road.

Grade 2

No bush­walk­ing expe­ri­ence required. The track is a hard­ened or com­pact­ed sur­face and may have a gen­tle hill sec­tion or sec­tions and occa­sion­al steps. Walks no greater than 10 km.

Suit­ed to walk­ers with a basic lev­el of fit­ness, Grade 2 tracks intro­duce slight undu­la­tions and nat­ur­al sur­faces, but remain well-defined and easy to fol­low for families.

One of South Australia’s most icon­ic trails lies just 20 min­utes from Ade­laide city in Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park, where First Falls Walk fol­lows an easy 3km out-and-back path to a stun­ning sea­son­al water­fall framed by sheer quartzite cliffs. 

Once you’ve fin­ished the walk, check out the Mukan­thi Nature Play Space, where a tow­er, climb­ing boul­ders and a hid­den tun­nel keep kids entertained. 

With park­ing, acces­si­ble toi­lets and free BBQs near­by, it’s an easy place to linger.

Fur­ther afield, the Kai Kai Nature Trail in Mur­ray Riv­er Nation­al Park brings an edu­ca­tion­al edge to Grade 2 walk­ing , trac­ing a 2.5km loop through riv­er red gum for­est on the Mur­ray floodplain. 

Along the way, inter­pre­tive stops unpack facts about native plants, wildlife and how the riv­er is shaped through wet and dry seasons.

Grade 3

Suit­able for most ages and fit­ness lev­els. Tracks may have short, steep hill sec­tions, a rough sur­face and many steps. Walks up to 20 km.

Best for walk­ers with a mod­er­ate lev­el of fit­ness, Grade 3 tracks intro­duce longer dis­tances, uneven sur­faces and some steep­er sec­tions, but remain well-marked and man­age­able with a bit of preparation.

Off Fleurieu Penin­su­la, the 2.9 km Kai­ki Walk on Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park cir­cum­nav­i­gates the island’s rugged gran­ite coastline. 

Expect some uneven sur­faces and short climbs as waves crash below, with reg­u­lar view­points to spot seabirds – and, in win­ter, south­ern right whales offshore. 

Reward your­self with a hot drink at the island café before cross­ing the cause­way back to the mainland.

Three hours north of Ade­laide, the Alli­ga­tor Gorge Ring Route Hike in Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park offers an immer­sive Grade 3 expe­ri­ence through the South­ern Flinders Ranges. 

Set­ting off from Mam­bray Creek Camp­ground (hot show­ers includ­ed), the 8.5km cir­cuit weaves through dra­mat­ic gorges and rocky creek beds, bring­ing a sat­is­fy­ing step up in difficulty.

Grade 4

Bush­walk­ing expe­ri­ence rec­om­mend­ed. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Direc­tion­al sig­nage may be limited.

You cer­tain­ly won’t get lost on the Water­fall Gul­ly to Mount Lofty Hike in Cle­land Nation­al Park. 

The path is clear and well con­struct­ed, and immense­ly pop­u­lar espe­cial­ly with peo­ple who hike or run it reg­u­lar­ly for fitness. 

Don’t be put off if you’re not out to set a per­son­al best. It’s 7.8km return and there are plen­ty of rest spots, love­ly shady bush scenery and a superb view – and café – once you reach the top.

The Tander­ra Sad­dle Hike in Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park is on many a bushwalker’s buck­et list. The trail climbs towards St Mary Peak, the high­est point in the Flinders Ranges at 1171m above sea lev­el. The peak has cul­tur­al impor­tance to the First Nations Adnya­math­anha peo­ple of the Flinders Ranges, and they pre­fer that vis­i­tors do not climb to its summit. 

Tander­ra Sad­dle is a chal­leng­ing 12km return hike and affords spec­tac­u­lar views of Wilpe­na Pound.

Grade 5

Rec­om­mend­ed for very expe­ri­enced bush­walk­ers with spe­cialised skills, includ­ing nav­i­ga­tion and emer­gency first aid. Tracks are like­ly to be very rough, very steep and unmarked. Walks may be more than 20km.

The Wild South Coast Way is a 74km sec­tion of the Hey­sen Trail, tra­vers­ing the south­ern­most coast of the Fleurieu Penin­su­la between Cape Jervis and Vic­tor Harbor. 

With camp­sites along the way, keen hik­ers can tack­le an incred­i­ble five-day adven­ture immersed in nature, begin­ning less than two hours from Adelaide. 

Short­er sec­tions can also be accessed for day hikes, with the trail cross­ing through Deep Creek Nation­al Park and New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park.

Water­fall Hike is the most chal­leng­ing trail in Belair Nation­al Park, just 25 min­utes from the cen­tre of Adelaide. 

To see the water­falls flow­ing it’s best to vis­it after win­ter rains, but rocks and slopes can become slip­pery. Spring is also a beau­ti­ful time to walk and spot wild­flow­ers includ­ing orchids. 

The 6.5km cir­cuit trail starts at the Pines area and takes you through Echo Tun­nel, which cross­es under the Ade­laide to Mel­bourne rail­way line, to the pic­turesque rock escarp­ments of the low­er and upper waterfalls. 

Some look­outs and cliff edges are not fenced – this is one for the sure-of-foot, and curi­ous kids need to be well supervised.

More read­ing about walks and hikes in South Australia:

10 pram-friend­ly walks in Adelaide’s nation­al parks

Step into bush­walk­ing this autumn

2 of the best long walks in South Australia

7 fam­i­ly-friend­ly walks to enjoy in Ikara-Flinders Ranges

14 oth­er ways to walk to Adelaide’s Mount Lofty Summit

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