5 of South Australia’s waterfall-worthy national parks

South Australia’s nation­al parks are peace­ful and relax­ing places at the best of times and par­tic­u­lar­ly dur­ing peri­ods of clouds and rain.

Here are five parks where you can enjoy the tran­quil sights and sounds of waterfalls.

1. Belair Nation­al Park

Just 25 min­utes from Ade­laide’s city cen­tre is Belair Nation­al Park – the old­est nation­al park in the state. 

It takes a del­uge of rain to make the upper and low­er water­falls at Belair flow, but when they do it’s def­i­nite­ly worth seeing.

Belair’s Water­fall Hike will take you right past both water­falls so you don’t miss a trick­le, and the low­er water­fall even has a view­ing plat­form so you can kick back, relax and take it all in with the whole family. 

The upper water­fall is best left to the adults as there is no railing.

2. Mori­al­ta Falls Con­ser­va­tion Park

Just 10 kilo­me­tres from the CBD, Mori­al­ta offers superb views of its three waterfalls. 

The water­falls are linked by three hik­ing trails that make it easy to get from one to the oth­er. If you want to see all the falls, pre­pare for a 7.5km hike, which will take approx­i­mate­ly four hours.

First and Sec­ond Falls are the grand­est though – with First Falls approximately30 m high and Sec­ond Falls 25 m high. 

After it rains, get set for some amaz­ing pho­to and video opportunities.

3. Deep Creek Nation­al Park

Deep Creek is perched on SA’s Fleurieu Penin­su­la, and as the name sug­gests, is a good place to vis­it if you enjoy being close to water. 

The park’s sea­son­al water­fall is tru­ly spec­tac­u­lar and is a must-see if you’re vis­it­ing in the cool­er months.

At the base of the water­fall there’s also a large rock pool. You can enjoy it by tak­ing walk­ing trails from either the Tapanap­pa Look­out carpark or Trig camp ground carpark.

4. Sturt Gorge Recre­ation Park

Pull on those hik­ing boots and head to Sturt Gorge Recre­ation Park, 13 km south of Ade­laide, to enjoy its rugged beau­ty and pic­turesque three-tiered waterfall. 

The Riv­er Trail mean­ders past this unex­pect­ed, relax­ing, urban oasis, which has a gen­tler flow than most water­falls – mak­ing it real­ly relax­ing to be around.

Geol­o­gy buffs will mar­vel at the rock for­ma­tions sur­round­ing the water­fall, which are believed to be 800 mil­lion years old.

Fol­low the path that leads to the water­fall, but watch your foot­ing if you step on the stones near its base – they can be slippery. 

5. Cle­land Nation­al Park

Cle­land Con­ser­va­tion Park is home to sev­en water­falls and you can usu­al­ly get up-close and per­son­al with three of these includ­ing First Falls at Water­fall Gul­ly – the grand-dad­dy of them all. 

Sec­ond Falls is a lot small­er than First Falls, but it’s still breath­tak­ing. Sit on the stone bench and enjoy the views from afar or head down the path and let the kids splash at its base in their gumboots.

Don’t for­get to check the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice web­site for any alerts or updates you should be aware of before you visit.

Keen to explore more of our parks this win­ter? Head to the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice web­site for all the details on these spe­cial places. 

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in August 2017.