About the Walking Route

This is an alternate way to hike up Mt Lofty, instead of the popular Waterfally Gully to Mt Lofty Summit Hike.

On this hike you can enjoy the cool sanctuary of Chambers Gully. Watch out for cockatoos, butterflies and bandicoots as you follow the track fringed with ferns. A steep climb takes you to the ridge, where splendid views of the city and coast are revealed.

This hike will take 3-5 hours and is 15km long (circuit).

This hike includes the following trails:

• connecting trail from Chambers Gully carpark to Gate 9 at Cleland National Park entrance (1.2km)
• Chambers Hike (all)
• Yurrebilla Trail (very short section)
• Hartford Trail (all)
• top of the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty Summit Hike (1.6km return)
• Wine Shanty Hike (part)
• Chambers Gully Walking Trail (around the Sugarloaf, part of the Chambers Hike)

This hike begins at the carpark in Chambers Gully.

Directions

The directions begin at the carpark at Chambers Gully, and walk in a clockwise direction.

1. The small roadside carpark is opposite 67 Waterfall Gully Road, Waterfall Gully. The Chambers Gully bitumen road (the road is actually called the Burnside Quarry Track, but there are no signs saying this) here is blocked by a gate, walk through this gateway
2. Continue up along the bitumen road. Walking past the red brick building (a rifle club), take the right dirt firetrack through the quarry. If you missed this turn, the track you are on will meet up again with the main track soon enough
3. The bitumen road rejoins, and at the turn-around area for the bitumen road, continue along the dirt fire track. An old road sign here reads “Waterfall Gully Road OUT”
4. The track reaches Gate 9 / Burnside Walking Trails CP 44. Continue on the same wide track through the gate. The single track walking track is where you will return later. This is the entrance to Cleland National Park (the land from Waterfall Gully Road to here is administered by the City of Burnside). As you have now entered the Conservation Park, you can follow the signs for the Chambers Hike until you reach the Long Ridge Track (7).
5. The wide track continues up Chambers Gully. You soon reach a cross junction, although the steep trail to the right can be indistinct, and is colloquially known as the Widow Maker (it’s steep). This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 45. Continue on the main trail, which is actually the start of the Bartrill Spur Track (the Chambers Gully Track goes left up the steep hill, but the signs don’t make this clear)
6. You soon reach the junction of the Bartrill Spur Track (the track you are on) and Kerrang Track. This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 48. The track now is shared with the Wine Shanty Hike. The next section gets steeper.
7. As the steepness begins to ease off, you reach the top of the gully at the junction of Bartrill Spur Track and Long Ridge Track. Turn left, heading up hill, along the Long Ridge Track.
8. Shortly there is a walking trail exit to the right to Cleland Wildlife Park, ignore this trail
9. At Gate 31 (also marker Emergency ID 78), and proceed up the bitumen road (keep left, not going right)
10. At this point we leave the Wine Shanty Hike signs (that hike goes off to the left). We follow part of the Yurrebilla Trail for a very short distance, turning right with it down the bitumen road.
11. Turn off the bitumen road, on to the fire track which is the Perimeter Track, and still the Yurrebila Trail
12. Walking a short distance from 11 (the bitumen road), turn left on to Robins Track. The marker here says “1.9km to Mt Lofty Summit”. This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 81
13. After walking on Robins Track for just 150m or so, follow the walking trail to the right (straight-on is “No Public Access”). This is the Hartford Trail. The marker here says “1.8km to Mt Lofty Summit”. This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 83.
14. At the end of the Hartford Trail, you intersect the busy Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty Summit Hike. Turn left up towards the summit. This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 14.
15. After just 160m, you come to the intersection of the Heysen Trail as it crosses the busy Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty Summit Hike. Later, we will take the left track. For now we can continue on the Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty Summit Hike to the summit of Mt Lofty
16. At the summit take in the views. There is also a cafe, gift shop and toilets. Return down the trail to (15), and turn right on to the Heysen Trail, which follows Chinamans Hut Track
17. Continue through Gate 35, and over the bitumen road on to the Lodge Track
18. At the intersection with the Wine Shanty Track, turn left, following the Wine Shanty Hike. This intersection is marked as Emergency ID 76.
19. Continue until you reach the point (10) again, where the trail passes through Gate 32 and back on to the Long Ridge Track. Turn right on to the Long Ridge Track
20. When we reach the Bartril Spur Track (where we came up on the Chambers Hike / Wine Shanty Hike), we continue along the Long Ridge Track, continuing the Chambers Hike which we left at (7). This long, wide ridge gives splendid views of Adelaide and the coast.
21. You pass an intersection marked as Emergency ID 54, and soon after ID 56. This marks the Manna Gum Loop. It’s here, and further down, where there is a manna gum nursery where branches are harvested for the Cleland Wildlife Park koalas.
22. After about 1.5 kms of walking along the ridge, you reach the junction with the Winter Track. This track offers an alternate route back to Waterfall Gully Road (but a little further up from the carpark). This junction is marked as Emergency ID 58. Continue another 250m towards the Lookout / Sugarloaf Hill (ahead of you, on the same track)
23. Nearing the lookout, you see the Chambers Gully Walking Track on the left, a single track walking trail. This track will contour around the Sugarloaf back to Gate 9 / Burnside Walking Trails CP 44 (point 4), where you can turn left and return down Chambers Gully to the carpark
24. Optionally at 23, walk up to the Lookout to see more views of Adelaide, the plains and the coast, before returning to 24 and following the Chambers Gully Walking Track