Mount Lofty Summit

From Mt Lofty Sum­mit you can fol­low the pop­u­lar walk down to Water­fall Gul­ly, join the Hey­sen Trail or stroll along a walk­ing trail through native bush­land to Cle­land Wildlife Park. There is an exten­sive net­work of walk­ing trails with­in the sur­round­ing Cle­land Nation­al Park.

• Walk, hike or trek — what’s the difference?
• Bush­walk­ing safety
• Bush­walk­ing min­i­mum impact code

Easy walks

Dis­cov­ery Walk (40 mins, 1km)

Dis­cov­er the veg­e­ta­tion just below the Mt Lofty sum­mit look­out. This short loop walk enables you to sit, relax and take in the view on the num­ber of seats provided.

Mod­er­ate hikes

Crafers to Mt Lofty link trail (2 hr 30 mins, 4.5km)

Nav­i­gate this trail using Google Street View

This trail pro­vides an excel­lent alter­na­tive for vis­i­tors to walk or ride from Crafers to Mt Lofty sum­mit avoid­ing the busy roads to get there. Start­ing oppo­site the Crafers bus stop, vis­i­tors can expe­ri­ence the seren­i­ty of the bush by walk­ing or rid­ing through Cle­land Nation­al Park. The trail con­sists of nat­ur­al sur­faces, exist­ing fire tracks and areas of well formed trails.

Steub Trail (3 hours, 7km return) 

Named in hon­or of park bene­fac­tor, Mr Lud­wig Rein­wald Steub, this trail gen­tly climbs through heathy for­est wood­land com­mu­ni­ties from the Cle­land Wildlife Park to Mount Lofty Sum­mit. The trail has been designed with gen­tle, low-gra­di­ent access mak­ing it pos­si­ble for those with reduced mobil­i­ty to reach the summit. 

Walk­ers, run­ners, and cyclists are reward­ed with won­der­ful views over the south­ern ridges of the park and out to the Ade­laide plains. 

Har­ford Trail (1 hour, 1.5km)

This link pro­vides access between Cle­land Wildlife Park and the Water­fall Gul­ly to Mt Lofty sum­mit trail below Chi­na­mans Hut Track. 

Hard hikes

Adven­ture loop (3 hr 30 mins, 10km)

Nav­i­gate this trail using Google Street View

A great alter­na­tive loop trail to Mt Lofty sum­mit for those want­i­ng to get away from the crowds. This trail pass­es through areas of rocky creek lines and tall stringy­bark forest.

It fol­lows a walk­ing trail and then a fire track before join­ing the Water­fall Gul­ly to Mt Lofty Sum­mit trail. This trail has nat­ur­al rough sur­faces and is be steep in parts.

Bil­ba hike (1 hour, 1.5km)

This short well formed trail link pro­vides access from the Water­fall Gul­ly to Mt Lofty sum­mit hike to Cle­land Wildlife Park. 

Water­fall Gul­ly to Mount Lofty Hike (2 hr 30 mins, 4.5km one way)

Nav­i­gate this trail using Google Street View

On almost any morn­ing of the year the trail attracts a range of peo­ple: some casu­al­ly walk­ing, oth­ers using it as a train­ing walk, some run­ners, and oth­ers with heavy packs train­ing for dis­tant hik­ing loca­tions like Nepal. As the walk involves some steep sec­tions, the time tak­en to walk the trail can vary significantly. 

On a busy week­end, car park­ing at Water­fall Gul­ly can be limited.

Pre­fer to get fit with­out an audi­ence? Here are five alter­na­tive walks to Mount Lofty from Adelady

There is an exten­sive net­work of bike trails with­in the sur­round­ing Cle­land Nation­al Park.

The sum­mit com­plex fea­tures a Vis­i­tor Infor­ma­tion Out­let and gift shop. Ask the friend­ly tourism experts about the sum­mit’s trails, maps and the best South Aus­tralian nature-based tourist attractions.

Whether shop­ping for your­self, buy­ing gifts or send­ing sou­venirs over­seas, our gift shop staff can help you find that spe­cial some­thing for that spe­cial some­one from the exten­sive range of local­ly sourced and Aus­tralian made merchandise.

Adja­cent to the Vis­i­tor Infor­ma­tion Out­let and gift shop, take in spec­tac­u­lar views of Ade­laide at the ful­ly licensed The Sum­mit Restau­rant and Café. For more infor­ma­tion about The Sum­mit Restau­rant and Café, includ­ing open­ing times and menus, vis­it their website.

Accom­mo­da­tion is avail­able at the Cle­land Cot­tage with­in Cle­land Nation­al Park.

Want to help?

To find out how you can help in this park or near­by, please vis­it Nat­ur­al Resources Ade­laide and Mt Lofty Ranges – Volunteering.

Want to join oth­ers and become a Park Friend?

To find out more about Friends of Parks groups please vis­it Friends of Parks South Australia.

You could join oth­ers to help look after a park. You can take part in work­ing bees, train­ing and oth­er events.