Mount Lofty Summit

Mount Lofty reaches 727 metres in the Adelaide Hills and gives the definitive view of the city: the grid of Adelaide laid out below, the parklands, the coast and the Gulf St Vincent beyond, with the Barossa hills visible north on clear days. An obelisk built in 1885 stands at the summit alongside a visitor centre and café. The mountain was at the centre of the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983, which destroyed the original summit buildings and much of the surrounding forest, and the regrowth is visible on the slopes. A well-used walking track climbs about four kilometres from Waterfall Gully at the bottom, gaining some five hundred metres, a standard local training route.

What you actually see

• The city panorama - Adelaide, the plains and the gulf laid out below.
• The 1885 obelisk - the summit marker beside the visitor centre.
• The Waterfall Gully track - the steep climb from the base through regrown forest.
• The fire regrowth - forest recovering from the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires.

When to go

March to November for comfortable walking; summer is hot on the exposed track and brings fire danger closures. Evenings give the city lights, which is when the summit is busiest. Winter fog often hides the view entirely.

Honest expectations

Summit parking is charged and fills at sunset. The Waterfall Gully climb is steeper and longer than many expect, taking around ninety minutes up. Cloud and haze frequently reduce the view.

Nearby

Cleland Wildlife Park is on the slope below; Hahndorf and the Hills wineries lie east.