Everyone from kids to adults, mountain bikers to hikers, and picnickers to romantics love a park. Whether your desire is to be active, to explore or just take time out, there are parks across Adelaide which are suitable for everyone. And in some of them, your four-legged best friend is also most welcome to come with you and enjoy the fun as well.
Belair National Park
Adelaide's first National Park is also the largest park for you, your family and your dog to explore. Woodlands, lakes, trails, picnic shelters, lawns and plenty of trees make
Belair the number one park for your extended family, and almost guarantees a good night's sleep for everyone after a few hours at the Park.
Belair National Park - Steve Hudson
Fresh from a major upgrade,
Anstey Hill is fast becoming one of the most popular parks on the northern side of town. New facilities and trails have been built to enable everyone to enjoy this unique park, one that is home to wildflowers, kangaroos, koalas and plenty of oft-noisy birdlife. A number of the trails head uphill towards the lookout thus ensuring a good workout for everyone.
Anstey Hill - Steve Hudson
is the youngest park on this list having been declared a recreation park in 1989 as part of the Golden Grove development. Popular with mountain bikers, this park underwent a major upgrade in 2016 and now features dedicated trails and shared trails amongst the old ruins, farm machinery, lightly running creek, olive trees and plenty of natural bushland.
Cobbler Creek Park - Steve Hudson
Nestled between South and Lonsdale Roads, and incorporating the Southern Expressway, the
O'Halloran Hill Recreation Park faces north with some cracking views of the Adelaide coastline. The Park features many walking trails, the majority of which are currently off-limits for mountain bikers. With the north facing outlook, the Park is a great place to visit in the cooler seasons when trying to extract as much warmth as possible from the weaker suns rays.
Parks are for sharing
Another park that is home to some great 360 degree views is
Shepherd's Hill Recreation Park at St Marys. And like most parks with views, to get to them requires a climb up some dedicated walking trails or shared fire trails. Shepherd's Hill Recreation Park is also home to an Archery Club and a Horse Riding Club, so be conscious of others when walking in and around some of the massive eucalypts in this park.
Remember to pick up after them
The
Sturt Gorge Recreation Park, as the name suggests, is home to a large gorge that runs through the centre of the park and features the always running Sturt River through an ancient rock formation known as Sturt Tillite. The Park extends from Flinders University in the west as far as Coromandel Valley in the East with mountain bikers frequenting the shared trails around Craigburn Farm, and hikers and walkers being most common in the lower reaches of the Gorge itself.
Paddling Pools
The most northern dog friendly park is at
Para Wirra, some 10km northeast of One Tree Hill. This large is popular with walkers, picnickers and photographers who all come to enjoy the native animals and the extensive bird life that calls this park home. To the north of the park is a little bit of history with the now-defunct Barossa Goldfields, where the ruins can be explored and your dog can be put to useful purpose in digging for gold.
Abundant trees to choose from
Dogs are allowed in each of the above parks, so long as they remain under the effective control of the owner, which means being on a leash for the whole time and not being a public nuisance. Doggy-do bag dispensers are available at most parks, and their use is mandatory to ensure the health and longevity of the park for everyone. For further details on dogs in parks refer to the
National Parks of SA website or their
Facebook page.
Dogs allowed on leash - Steve Hudson
