The best outdoor adventures in the Adelaide Hills
The Hills' postcard image is all cellar doors and cheese boards, but the region has a wilder résumé. Within forty minutes of Adelaide you can drop into fifty kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trail at Fox Creek, paddle a reservoir that was fenced off for a hundred years, climb through the treetops at Gumeracha, or pan for real gold on a heritage field.
This list ranks the best of the Hills' active days out. Some need gear, some need nerve, most need nothing but enthusiasm and water. The gentlest entry point is the Amy Gillett Bikeway - flat, sealed and lined with food - and the hardest is the Warren, where the contour lines crowd together and the orchids are the reward.
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1
GumerachaFox Creek Bike Park
50km+ of rebuilt single track, jumps and skills lines - SA mountain biking's capital.
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2
OakbankAmy Gillett Bikeway
22 flat kilometres of rail trail from Oakbank to Birdwood. Everyone's adventure.
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3
GumerachaSouth Para Reservoir Reserve
Kayak and fish water that was off-limits for over a century.
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4
GumerachaWarren Conservation Park
The Hills' toughest day walks - steep, wild and worth it.
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5
CrafersMorialta Conservation Park
Waterfalls, gorge cliffs and a via ferrata feel on the Three Falls hike.
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6
MylorKuitpo Forest Reserve
Forest riding, horse trails and hut-to-hut overnighting among the pines.
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7Mylor
Jupiter Creek Diggings
Pan for real gold on a State Heritage-listed field near Echunga.
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8
BirdwoodMount Crawford Forest
Forest drives, campouts and the northern Heysen at its finest.
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Summer adventurers should check fire danger ratings and park alerts before heading out - several of these sites close on catastrophic days. Winter and spring are prime: full creeks, green slopes, cool climbing weather.
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Image credits
- Bicycle at a mountain bike park.jpg by JaredMcKenzie , CC0 via Wikimedia Commons