Your ultimate guide to South Australia’s national parks over summer

And let’s be hon­est, par­ents will be keen to keep them busy! South Australia’s nation­al parks are a great way to make the most of this time — offer­ing wildlife spot­ting, fam­i­ly-friend­ly trails, and pic­nic spots for every­one to enjoy. Whether it’s a quick trip or a full day out, here’s how to keep the hol­i­days fun and active!

Cle­land Wildlife Park

Just a short dri­ve up the free­way from Ade­laide, Cle­land Wildlife Park is a beloved Ade­laide icon. Open every day (9:30am — 4:30pm) except Christ­mas Day, it’s the per­fect spot for wildlife encounters.

Spread over 35 hectares, it’s like­ly big­ger than you expect, so wear your walk­ing shoes and don’t for­get a hat and sunscreen.

For a school hol­i­day expe­ri­ence the kids won’t for­get, sign them up for the Junior Wildlife Keep­er pro­gram. Designed for 7 – 12 year olds, this hands-on expe­ri­ence lets bud­ding ani­mal lovers step into the shoes of a Wildlife Keep­er. They’ll pre­pare enrich­ments, clean exhibits, and may even help serve break­fast to our ani­mals. Spots are lim­it­ed, so book now!

Ade­laide Gaol

If your kids love solv­ing mys­ter­ies, Ade­laide Gaol has just the adven­ture for them! Step into the past with Gaol Break, an excit­ing school hol­i­day activ­i­ty that brings his­to­ry to life.

Run­ning from Sat­ur­day 14 Decem­ber 2024 to Mon­day 27 Jan­u­ary 2025, this inter­ac­tive expe­ri­ence lets fam­i­lies explore the icon­ic site while uncov­er­ing real-life escape sto­ries hid­den through­out the site. Can your lit­tle detec­tives fig­ure out which pris­on­ers made it to free­dom and who got caught? Each sto­ry is based on true events from the gaol’s fas­ci­nat­ing history.

As a bonus, kids can col­lect a lim­it­ed-edi­tion school hol­i­day badge to remem­ber their day of discovery.

Open dai­ly from 10am to 4pm (last entry at 3pm), this activ­i­ty is includ­ed with gen­er­al entry, mak­ing it an easy addi­tion to your hol­i­day plans.

Play­grounds in Nature

Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park, Ade­laide

The Mukan­thi Nature Play Space com­bines nature and adven­ture with climb­ing tow­ers, water play, and secret tun­nels. It’s a great spot for a pic­nic and per­fect for kids who love to explore.

Don’t for­get to vis­it a water­fall and tack­le the climb to Giants Cave — it’s only about 50 steps up and rewards you with a fan­tas­tic view down the valley.

Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park

Head to Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park and explore Adelaide’s only Nature Play For­est at the Gawler View Pic­nic Area. This unique play­ground is packed with adven­ture, includ­ing tree climb­ing, tun­nels, a fly­ing fox, and a dry creek bed.

The for­est is designed to inspire curios­i­ty and cre­ativ­i­ty, with oppor­tu­ni­ties to climb fall­en logs, build an Abo­rig­i­nal Wudli, and grind wat­tle seeds. For a qui­eter moment, relax on carved wood­en seats and enjoy the sounds of nature.

Glen­thorne Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta

Cov­er­ing over 7,000 square metres, this play­ground is one of the biggest in South Aus­tralia and fea­tures three slides, a see­saw, spin­ner, fos­sil dig area, Kau­r­na carv­ings and sculptures. 

There’s also rope and log climb­ing ele­ments, a pen­du­lum swing, cub­by build­ing, and a 25m long fly­ing fox, just to name a few! You can find Glen­thorne Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta adven­ture play­ground and vis­i­tor hub on 2 Majors Road, O’Hal­lo­ran Hill, about 17km south of the Ade­laide CBD. 

Stay the Night

Plan­ning a camp­ing trip? Camp­sites in South Australia’s nation­al parks can be booked up to 12 months in advance, and the most pop­u­lar spots fill quick­ly dur­ing the holidays.

Parks like Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park, Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park, and Canun­da Nation­al Park are often close to ful­ly booked around Christ­mas and New Year. How­ev­er, you can still secure a site by vis­it­ing mid-week or just out­side peak periods. 

Top tip: Check out our blog full of ideas on how to have fun camp­ing with kids!

Plan a day trip

Look­ing to explore a lit­tle fur­ther with­out pack­ing the car to the brim? A day trip is for you.

Deep Creek Nation­al Park

For a nature escape less than two hours from Ade­laide, Deep Creek Nation­al Park is hard to beat. Com­bin­ing lush bush­land with stun­ning coastal views, it’s a favourite for vis­i­tors seek­ing adven­ture and relax­ation in one place.

Our top pick? Blow­hole Beach. Park at Cob­bler Hill car park and enjoy the 1.5km walk down the hill to the beach. You might spot local kayak­ers or fish­ers soak­ing up the seren­i­ty. Keep in mind the return hike is steep, so plan for a few rest stops on your way back up.

Don’t for­get to pur­chase your vehi­cle entry pass online or from a book­ing agent before head­ing into the park.

Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park

Just 30 min­utes’ dri­ve from the city cen­tre, locat­ed in the south­ern coastal sub­urbs of Ade­laide, Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park is packed full of inter­est­ing geo­log­i­cal fea­tures.

Warm sum­mer days are a fan­tas­tic time to explore the park’s under­wa­ter world. Snorkelling off the coast is sen­sa­tion­al and also gives great respite from the heat on hot Ade­laide days.

Know before you go

Check the fire dan­ger ratings

Some parks and gar­dens, like Mount Lofty Botan­ic Gar­den, are closed on days of severe, extreme or cat­a­stroph­ic fire dan­ger, and all nation­al parks and reserves are closed on days of cat­a­stroph­ic fire danger.

Make sure you check fire dan­ger rat­ings online with nation­al parks, the CFS or the Bureau of Mete­o­rol­o­gy before you go. If in doubt, vis­it the clo­sures and alerts page on the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Aus­tralia web­site to check whether the park you plan to vis­it is open.

Down­load Aven­za Maps

Park maps are avail­able on Aven­za Maps, which means you can explore with con­fi­dence — even off the grid.

The app uses your device’s built-in GPS to pin­point your loca­tion in real time, so even when you’re deep in the hills or beyond net­work cov­er­age, you’ll know exact­ly where you are. Once down­loaded, these geo­ref­er­enced maps let you nav­i­gate eas­i­ly with­out need­ing an inter­net connection.

Stay safe, plan your adven­ture, and make the most of your vis­it with this handy tool. Whether you’re tack­ling a trail or wan­der­ing through a seclud­ed val­ley, Aven­za Maps ensures you’re always in the know.

Look­ing to explore a lit­tle fur­ther? Check out South Aus­trali­a’s beast beach­es this summer.