About the Walking Trail

The Southern Loop is easiest and shortest of the four trails in the newly opened Happy Valley Reservoir. The reservoir and trails were opened to the public on 11 December 2021.

The Southern Loop is a 2km 30 minute easy trail, rated as Grade 2, which means “gentle hills, no bushwalking experience required.”

The trail commences from the main reservoir trailhead and carpark, off Chandlers Hill Road, from the roundabout with Kenihans Road. This carpark is accessible to wheelchair users. The Southern Loop and the Woodland Loop each have a creek crossing that can only be crossed in dry weather, which if wet and uncrossable would break the loops. There are toilets, picnic shelters and bbqs at this trailhead.

The trails around this main carpark are wheelchair accessible, although some sections further to the east and west of the carpark can be less so, or be along the sandy shore. The trails are suitable for children to ride bikes on, but do refer to the bike grade ratings on signs.

The trail is marked with purple trail markers.

You can view all trails on our Happy Valley Reservoir page.

The reservoir includes an augmented reality trail and geocaching trail. The experience transforms the reserve’s natural environment into a digital playground, with fun educational games delivered to your mobile device as you move through the landscape.

Trails and reservoir opening hours

The trail is also closed during periods of operational activity (the gates will be closed).

Dog walking not permitted

Dogs are not permitted at Happy Valley Reservoir or at any of South Australia’s other reservoir reserves, regardless of whether they are on a leash, as they can carry harmful bacteria and viruses that can easily contaminate the water and are a risk to the safety of the drinking water. Dogs also pose a threat to local native birds and wildlife. Assistance animals are excepted.