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

If you live in Ade­laide, it’s like­ly you’ve tor­tured your­self on the pop­u­lar Water­fall Gul­ly to Mount Lofty Trail, but did you know there are at least 14 oth­er ways to get to the top?

With the help of our friends at Walk­ing SA, we’ve com­piled this list of alter­na­tives for you to try on your next visit:

Short­er distances

1. Stir­ling via laneways and fire tracks to Mount Lofty

4 hours return (11.4 km)
This walk starts and fin­ish­es in the leafy Ade­laide Hills town of Stir­ling, which is the per­fect spot to fuel up for your walk at one of its many cafes. You’ll stroll down var­i­ous lanes of the town before using some of the fire tracks in Cle­land Nation­al Park to get to the summit.

2. Cle­land Wildlife Park via the Har­ford Trail

4 hours return (4.2 km)
This walk is per­fect for the lit­tle peo­ple in your life due to its short dura­tion and guar­an­teed wildlife spot­ting. Get your wildlife fix at Cle­land Wildlife Park, then fol­low the Har­ford Track through the for­est to the main Mount Lofty track, which will take you the rest of the way.

3. Mount Lofty Botan­ic Garden

4 to 6 hours return (10.2 km) After enjoy­ing the spec­tac­u­lar colour, rich aro­mas and amaz­ing diver­si­ty of the botan­ic gar­den, fol­low the Nature Hike and the Hey­sen Trail up the qui­et hid­den val­leys that ascend to the summit.

4. Crafers

4 to 6 hours return (9.6 km)
This trail is a hid­den gem and is per­fect if you enjoy peace and qui­et. The trail is a lot wider than the Water­fall Gul­ly to Mount Lofty track and it’s a great way to build your fit­ness as the incline is more grad­ual than steep.

5. Adven­ture Trail

4 to 6 hours return (10 km)
Fol­low the forests and long ridges of Cle­land Nation­al Park and join the main Mount Lofty trail just below the Youth Hos­tel. This trail uses parts of the Chi­na­mans Hut Track, which can be quite steep.

6. Wine Shan­ty Trail

4 to 6 hours return (10 km)
Con­trary to pop­u­lar belief, there’s no stop­ping for wine tast­ing on this tour, but you’ll be treat­ed to beau­ti­ful scenery in the stringy­bark for­est of Cle­land Nation­al Park. Keep your eyes peeled for echid­nas, kan­ga­roos, koalas and bandicoots.

Medi­um distances

7. Green­hill Recre­ation Park to Mount Lofty via Cham­bers Gully

4 to 6 hours return (17.8 kilo­me­tres)
Take in the views across Ade­laide from the qui­et Green­hill Recre­ation Park before head­ing through pic­turesque Cle­land Nation­al Park before reach­ing Mount Lofty Summit.

8. Cham­bers Gul­ly and Har­ford Trail

4 to 6 hours return (16.4 km)
Enjoy the cool sanc­tu­ary of Cham­bers Gul­ly, lis­ten to the sound of cock­a­toos and spot but­ter­flies and bandi­coots along a track fringed with ferns.

9. Win­ter Track and Long Ridge Track

4 to 6 hours return (13.4 km)
While you’re check­ing out amaz­ing views across the city and coast, keep your eyes peeled for a koala or kangaroo.

10. Meas­days Lookout

4 to 6 hours return (14 km)
This is the per­fect hike to do in warmer weath­er, as you’ll be shad­ed by the cool seclud­ed gully.

Longer dis­tances

11. Hey­sen Trail from Bridgewater

4 to 6 hours return (15.6 km)
Like to stop and admire nature on your walks? Check out this trail if you fan­cy see­ing a fairy garden.

12. Coach Road Skye and Hey­sen Trail to Mount Lofty

6 to 8 hours return (20.8 km)
Not for the faint heart­ed, this jour­ney starts off on the fringes of Skye, and pass­es through Horsnell Gul­ly Con­ser­va­tion Park and Cle­land Nation­al Park before reach­ing Mount Lofty Summit.

13. Pio­neer Women’s Trail from Beau­mont to Mount Lofty

6 to 8 hours return (20.4 km)
This chal­leng­ing walk is named after the women and girls of Hah­n­dorf. They car­ried bas­kets of veg­eta­bles and dairy prod­ucts on their backs or on wood­en beams across their shoul­ders to sup­ply fresh pro­duce to Ade­laide, at a time when most fresh food had to be import­ed. They left Hah­n­dorf at mid­night to walk the rough bush track to Ade­laide 35km away.

14. Yur­re­bil­la Trail from Brown­hill Creek

6 to 8 hours return, 22.4 km
Open grassy hills and ridgetops set the scene for this chal­leng­ing walk. Be sure to pack plen­ty of drink­ing water, and wear a hat and sunscreen.

Love walk­ing in nature? Check out our blogs on 5 alter­na­tive walks to Mount Lofty, 10 pram-friend­ly walks in Adelaide’s nation­al parks, and 17 dog-friend­ly walks in Ade­laide.

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in Octo­ber 2018