If you are anything like me, there is a moment every spring when your body says enough hibernating. The sun feels warm on your face, the wattles are buzzing, and your legs itch for a stretch.
Ten kilometres is the magic distance. Long enough to feel like a proper walk, short enough to fit into a morning or afternoon. The Adelaide Hills are full of tracks that sit right in that sweet spot. Here are four worth lacing up for.
FOUR TRACKS TO SHAKE OFF WINTER
Ten kilometres, give or take
1. Wine Shanty Hike (Cleland)
A 10km circuit through tall forest and open gullies, with bird calls overhead and the ruins of an old wine shanty along the way. Cleland always delivers koala sightings if you keep your eyes up.
Where: Cleland Conservation Park
Perfect for: Koala spotting on a 10km forest circuit.
More info
2. Mylor to Aldgate Loop (Heysen Trail)
This 10.2km loop stitches two Hills villages together via the Heysen Trail. Expect creek crossings, mossy stone walls and a steady track that leaves you right on Aldgate's doorstep for a coffee stop.
Where: Mylor to Aldgate, via the Heysen Trail
Perfect for: A village-to-village loop that ends at a coffee stop.
More info
3. Onkeeta Trail (Kuitpo Forest)
Flat, steady and just over 10km. Plantation pines mix with native pockets, and yellow-tailed black cockatoos often cut across the track. A reliable circuit when you want a no-fuss wander.
Where: Kuitpo Forest
Perfect for: A flat, no-fuss circuit just over 10km.
More info
4. Chambers Hike (Cleland)
At 9.6km it nearly misses the cut, but Chambers makes up for it with everything: waterfalls, old ruins, koalas, and a ridge line view back over Adelaide.
Where: Cleland Conservation Park
Perfect for: Waterfalls, ruins and ridge-line views in 9.6km.
More info
BEFORE YOU GO
Each of these tracks has a hike map worth checking before you set off, so you know the turns and the elevation. Take water, decent shoes and a little time to stand still and look up. The koalas are usually closer than you think.
Whichever one you choose, spring is the season for it. Pick a track, get the legs moving, and let the Hills do the rest.
Header photo: Mike Wilson (mkwlsn) via Unsplash. Public domain (CC0). Body photo: Mike Wilson via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.