Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty summit hike

Walking Trail Facts
Distance
7.8 km return
Duration
1.5 - 3 hours return. Keen hikers/runners 30-55min up, 25-35min down.
Suitable for
Walking, Hiking, Get to by public transport, Jogging
Trail Class
Grade 4, Hard Hike
Terrain
Steep
Park (national park, conservation park, forest, reserve)
Waterfall Gully
Region
Adelaide City & Suburbs, Adelaide Hills
Download maps & GPS files
  1. 1 map PDF
  2. 2 GPS files
Jump to Downloads section
Photos
9 photos
Travel options
  1. Bus
  2. Car
Travel time from Adelaide
1 hour or less
Total climb
475m
Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty summit hike

About the Walking Trail

Map of hike walk from Waterfall Gully to Mt LoftyThis popular walk is short and sweet. With a cafe at each end, a well made path and regular seating, this walk is popular for a reason.

On almost any morning of the year the trail attracts a range of people: some casually walking, others using it as a training walk, some runners, and others with heavy-simulated packs training for distant hiking locations like Nepal. As the walk involves some steep sections, the time taken to walk the trail can vary significantly.

On a busy weekend, car parking at Waterfall Gully can be limited.

Starting hiking from Mt Lofty instead of Waterfall Gully can be a good way to use the downhill as a warm up, to super charge your up-hill efforts.

August 2020

The major upgrade of the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty Summit Trail is now complete. The trail works have been in progress since the trail suffered serious storm damage in 2016.

Looking for an alternate route to Mt Lofty Summit to explore? Try these:

  1. Steub Trail, new 2020, a gentle climb from Cleland Wildlife Park to the Summit (3.5km one-way, 7km 3 hours return)
  2. Main St Crafers to Mt Lofty Summit (4.9km one-way, 9.8km 4 hours return)
  3. View some other ways to hike up to Mt Lofty

Downloads

Download KML/KMZ file
Download GPX file

Photos

7 Other Ways to Hike Up Mt Lofty

The well-known and popular Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty summit hike is good – short and sweet (code for good, but steep).

Here are 7 other ways to hike up to the summit of Mt Lofty. Some are gentler, some just as steep. Expect to see fewer people but more koalas and kangaroos.