The best hikes from bus stations in Scott Creek Conservation Park

Nice easy trail. Pushchair friendly

Old Government House is a heritage stone residence built in 1860 as the official summer home of South Australia’s early governors. Nestled within Belair National Park, it’s a beautifully preserved house that offers a peek into colonial life, with restored period furnishings, well-maintained gardens, and interpretive displays that explain the property’s history. It’s one of the park’s most significant historic landmarks and is typically open to visitors on holidays and the first and third Sundays of most months. You can also visit the park’s website to schedule a guided tour.

Queen’s Jubilee Drive is a wide, gravel road that winds through the heart of Belair National Park and provides access to several of the park’s walking tracks and picnic areas. Lined with tall eucalypts and surrounded by open woodland, it’s a beautiful route to spot an abundance of kangaroos, koalas, emus, and birdlife along the way that call this park home.

Belair National Park is South Australia’s oldest national park and covers more than 800 hectares of native bushland in the Adelaide Hills. There is a network of walking tracks that wind through open woodland, grassy valleys, and historic sites, and the area is home to plenty of wildlife, including kangaroos, koalas, emus, and abundant birdlife. Just 20 minutes from Adelaide, it’s a popular destination for bushwalking, picnicking, and enjoying nature close to the city.

Playford Lake is a charming body of water surrounded by picnic areas, open lawns, and the accessible Wood Duck Walk. The lake attracts ducks, turtles, and other waterbirds, making it one of the park’s best places for wildlife watching and a popular destination for families. Swimming and fishing are not permitted, but it’s a lovely place to take a peaceful stroll around its perimeter.

Brownhill Creek Recreation Park protects a narrow valley in the Adelaide foothills, with creekside walking trails, rocky slopes, old quarry sites, and towering River Red Gums throughout the reserve. The park has been used for recreation for more than a century, with shaded picnic areas, wildlife, and historic features like the huge hollow “Monarch of the Glen” gum tree.

Brownhill Creek Road follows the heart of the valley through towering River Red Gums, historic picnic grounds, and some of the oldest recreation areas in the Adelaide foothills. Along the road you’ll pass the huge hollow “Monarch of the Glen” gum tree, old quarry sites, and sections of creek that were once dammed for public swimming in the late 1800s. The road stays close to the creek for much of the valley, with walking trails, wildlife, and shaded picnic spots scattered throughout the reserve.

The Yurrebilla Trail is a long-distance walking route through the Adelaide Hills, stretching about 54 kilometres from Belair National Park to the River Torrens through the Mount Lofty Ranges. The trail links several conservation parks including Brownhill Creek, Cleland, Morialta, Black Hill, and Horsnell Gully, passing waterfalls, ridgelines, forest, rocky gullies, and wide views across Adelaide along the way. The name “Yurrebilla” comes from a Kaurna word connected to Mount Lofty and Mount Bonython, often interpreted as “two ears.”