Nurture a love for nature

As spring breathes new life into local landscapes, launch into a weekend nature play adventure with a difference. The change of season sees native wildflowers awaken and bloom, inviting investigation and wonder.

Kids are naturally curious. They find joy in exploring their surroundings. When they observe the natural environment together with trusted adults it nurtures their love for nature and strengthens relationships through shared discovery.

We’ve picked six of our favourite trails to wander during spring to admire and learn about our native wildflowers. Some trails offer a relaxed and easy walk well-suited to prams and young children. Other moderate hikes offer budding naturalists the chance to test their observational skills and identify harder-to-spot wildflowers along the trail.

We always recommend following the pace set by kids when bushwalking. This allows them the space to discover, persevere, gain confidence and build resilience. Stick to designated paths to protect delicate wildflowers from trampling, and remember, picking wildflowers is always a no-go.

1. MICROCARPA HIKE, BELAIR NATIONAL PARK

Belair National Park’s Microcarpa Hike is one of the park’s more challenging trails, taking around two hours to complete. If you’re exploring with younger children, you can enjoy a short stroll up the trail from the Playford Lake car park to spot wildflowers in bloom. Purple chocolate lilies, tall stems of creamy candles, yam daisies, guinea flowers and bush peas line the trail edges, as well as harder-to-spot donkey and spider orchids.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna
Location: Upper Sturt Road, Belair (13km southeast of Adelaide)
Facilities: BBQs, toilets, picnic areas, shelters, tennis courts (some facilities incur a hire fee)
Accessibility: Accessible car parks and toilets are available throughout the park, including Playford Lake. There is an accessibility trike, free to hire, for use within the park and social scripts to assist children on the Autism Spectrum.
Other things to do: There are woodlands, lakes, creeks and waterfalls to explore, mountain bike trails, sporting facilities and an adventure playground. You’ll find trails to suit most ages and fitness levels and plenty of wildlife, including kangaroos, koalas, emus and other birds.

DONKEY ORCHID

2. STEUB TRAIL, CLELAND NATIONAL PARK

Cleland National Park’s Steub Trail is a 7km return hike accessible from the bottom at Cleland Wildlife Park or the top at Mount Lofty Summit. If walking with young children, we suggest starting at the top and looping back to the Summit via the Waterfall Gully Trail. Wildflowers are abundant in spring, including clusters of milkmaids, blue grass lilies and billy buttons. Greenhood and spider orchids are small and bloom closer to the ground.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna and Peramangk
Location: Mount Lofty Summit Road, Crafers (22km southeast of Adelaide)
Facilities: Toilets, visitor information, gift shop, cafe at Mount Lofty Summit
Accessibility: Accessible car parks and toilets at Mount Lofty Summit
Other things to do: Take in the panoramic views of Adelaide from the Summit and enjoy a warm drink in the cafe. For a full-day adventure, visit Cleland Wildlife Park before or after wandering the bottom of the Steub Trail from the southern car park to spot wildflowers. Keep your eyes peeled for kangaroos, echidnas and the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot.

3. LOOKOUT TRAIL, MOUNT BOLD RESERVOIR RESERVE

Lookout Trail in Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve is a short, family-friendly 1.3km return walk. It’s suitable for wheelchairs and prams and offers views over the Mount Lofty Ranges from the lookout platform. As you wander, look for clusters of bulbine lilies, native bluebells, vanilla lilies and sundews. If you’re lucky, you may spot a native sun orchid or greenhood orchid.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna and Peramangk
Location: Razorback Road, Dorset Value (46km southeast of Adelaide)
Facilities: Toilets
Accessibility: Accessible car parks and toilets
Other things to do: The family-friendly Eucalypts Trail in Kuitpo Forest is a short drive from Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve. Extend your day of wildflower spotting with a picnic and walk in the forest before or after visiting the Lookout Trail.

SUN ORCHID

4. EUCALYPTS TRAIL, KUITPO FOREST

The Eucalypts Trail is a family-friendly, 2km loop walk near Rocky Creek Hut, the site of our annual Forest Festival. It takes around one hour to complete at a leisurely pace and is especially well-suited to families with young children. Enjoyable year-round but especially beautiful in spring, look closely to see if you can find greenhood and donkey orchids low to the ground or easier-to-spot chocolate, vanilla, and flax lilies.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna and Peramangk
Location: Razorback Road, Meadows (42km southeast of Adelaide)
Facilities: Toilet
Other things to do: Enjoy a picnic at the trailhead before or after your walk, keeping an eye out for the yellow-tailed black cockatoos that often fly overhead. Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve is nearby. There are also other trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds to explore in Kuitpo Forest.

5. LIZARD ROCK HIKE, PARA WIRRA CONSERVATION PARK

Lizard Rock Hike in Para Wirra Conservation Park follows a short, 1km loop trail with views across Wild Dog Creek valley. It’s easily accessible from the Gawler View Picnic Area and Nature Play Forest playground. You’ll likely see wattles and yellow-flowered guinea flowers blooming along the way. Take some time to meander the trail edges to see if you can identify native spider, sun or purple cockatoo orchids.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna, Ngadjuri and Peramangk
Location: Para Wirra Conservation Park (44km north of Adelaide)
Facilities: BBQs, picnic tables, toilets
Accessibility: Accessible car park and toilet at Gawler View Picnic Area and social scripts to assist children on the Autism Spectrum.
Other things to do: Visit the Nature Play Forest playground to build an Aboriginal wardli along the tunnel run, climb trees and giant fallen logs, explore the dry creek bed and ride the flying fox. Enjoy a picnic or spend the night among the pink gums at Wirra campground (booking required).

LIZARD ROCK HIKE, PARA WIRRA CONSERVATION PARK

6. ECHIDNA TRAIL, ONKAPARINGA RIVER NATIONAL PARK

Home to a stunning array of wildflowers, including many native orchids, the 3.5km Echidna Trail in Onkaparinga River National Park is a moderate hike for families with some bushwalking experience. If visiting after rain, take the short side track to see if the waterfall is flowing. Enjoy views over the gorge, and look out for kangaroos and echidnas. See if you can find and identify a native spider, mosquito, gnat, onion or purple cockatoo orchid.

Traditional Owners: Kaurna
Location: Onkaparinga River National Park (28km south of Adelaide) there’s a small car park at Gate 11, Piggot Range Road
Facilities: Nearest toilets to the Echidna Trail are located at the Sundews car park, Piggott Range Road
Accessibility: Accessible car park and toilet at Sundews car park
Other things to do: Explore the many scenic hiking trails, mountain bike tracks and picnic areas or extend your visit with a stay at Pink Gum campground (booking required). Nearby, you’ll find Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, where you can launch a kayak or wander the wetland boardwalks.

TIPS FOR WILDFLOWER IDENTIFICATION

1. Green Adelaide has resources available online to assist in identifying native orchids and other native plants. You’re also welcome to pick up a free printed copy of the identification charts from our headquarters in the Wittunga Botanic Gardens.
2. Purchase or borrow a plant identification book from your local library. Our book, Where Birds Sing and Wildflowers Dance, has sold out, but it is available in the Libraries SA network. We also like Dashorst and Jessop’s Plants of the Adelaide Plains and Hills and Prescott’s It’s Blue with Five Petals: Wildflowers of the Adelaide Region.
3. The iNaturalist app is free to download on Apple and Android and can assist with plant identification.

Look out for our upcoming nature walks, often led side-by-side with Aboriginal Elders and Traditional Owners, offering new insight into South Australia’s flora and fauna.

Nature Play SA is supported by Green Adelaide.