About the Walking Trail

The Mark Oliphant Conservation Park is a park with stringybark forest and numerous walking trails. The park entrance appears rundown, but don’t be deceived – this is a gem of a park for walkers. Trails are marked, and firetracks named with street signs. There is no trail information at the carpark. The oval has a modern shelter, but there are no other park facilities.

We feature four walks in the park:

 Bandicoot Trail

3.1km, 2 hours

Follow the walking trail through the forest. The trail is marked and easily followed. 650 metres of this trail is along the quiet dirt Evans Drive (both the entrance and exit are clearly marked, don’t be tempted by the numerous dead-end indistinct walking trails leaving the road).

• Start this hike from the carpark at Gate 1 (178 Scott Creek Road)
• Walking clockwise, walk along Loftia Track (a fire track), past the oval and shelter.
• The walking trail starts 100 metres after the junction with the fire track called Nioka Track.

 Waterfall Trail

1.6km, 1 hour

This hike follows the gully up into the waterfall. The waterfall is a series of two large rockfaces, but is generally only likely to be flowing in winter and early spring.

• Start this hike 70 metres from the carpark at Gate 1 (178 Scott Creek Road), walking along the Thornbill Track.
• Walking clockwise, take the left fire track called Camp Track.
• 500 metres later, the fire track reaches a junction, with the Camp Track turning to the left and uphill – continue straight on, within 100m the fire track converts to a single walking trail. Vegetation at head-height might be overgrown, but otherwise the trail is easily followed.

 Skink Trail

1.8km, 30 mins

This short trail is on walking trail and fire track.

• Start this hike from the carpark at Gate 1 (178 Scott Creek Road)
• Walking clockwise, walk along Loftia Track (a fire track), past the oval and shelter.
• The walking trail starts as the Bandicoot Trail, 100 metres after the junction with the fire track called Nioka Track.

 Loop along the Skink Trail, Bandicoot Trail and Waterfall Trail

4km, 2 hours

Combine the above three smaller loops into a larger hike.

About Mark Oliphant Conservation Park

Stringybark dominate the forest canopy, and there is a small stand of candlebark gums near the Loftia oval. This tall eucalypt with white bark is rare and only found in the higher rainfall areas of the Adelaide Hills. Tiny patches of pink gum, manna gum and blue gum also occur in the park. In the forest understorey there are many spring-flowering shrubs, including myrtle-leaved wattle, beaked hakea and large-leaved bush-pea.

There is a variety of wildlife located in the park, including the rare southern brown bandicoot and yellow-footed antechinus, along with several lizard, snake and frog species. Numerous bird species are also found in the park including the superb fairy-wren, scarlet robin, golden whistler, Adelaide rosella and honeyeater species.

The park was renamed in 1996 in honour of former state Governor Sir Mark Oliphant’s contribution to conservation (the park was formerly called Loftia Recreation Park).