Mount Lofty

Mount Lofty rises to 727 metres at the northern end of the Mount Lofty Ranges, about 15 kilometres east of the Adelaide CBD. The summit is reachable by a sealed road that winds up from Crafers, making it one of the most accessible mountain viewpoints of any Australian capital city. On a clear day the view from the summit lookout extends from the Adelaide city grid and the Gulf St Vincent coastline in the west across to the ranges and the Barossa Valley in the north-east.

The summit precinct includes a visitor centre, a cafe with outdoor seating facing the view, and the start of several walking tracks. The most popular is the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty Summit hike, a 4.6 kilometre trail that climbs about 400 metres of elevation from the suburbs at the base of the hills through stringybark forest to the top. It is the default exercise walk for Adelaide residents and can be busy on weekday mornings and weekends.

The Mount Lofty Botanic Garden sits just below the summit on the eastern slope and is one of the finest cool-climate gardens in Australia. Established in 1977, the garden covers 97 hectares of steep gullies and is particularly strong on rhododendrons, magnolias, ferns and cool-climate conifers. The garden is spectacular in autumn (April to May) when the deciduous trees put on one of the best colour displays in South Australia.

Mount Lofty is closely linked to the history of Adelaide. The summit was one of the first points Colonel William Light surveyed in 1837 when selecting the site for the new capital, and the view from the top was central to his assessment of the surrounding country. The original Mount Lofty House, a grand 19th century estate on the southern slope, is now a boutique hotel and restaurant.

The summit is best at sunrise and sunset. Winter mornings often deliver fog in the valleys below with the summit sitting above the cloud line, creating an atmospheric inversion that photographers treasure. The drive from Adelaide takes about 25 minutes and the summit is open year-round.