Written for the weekend of 10 and 11 October 2026. Seasons move by the week, so check each farm's website or socials before you go.
The Harvest & Bloom Trail is your excuse to slow down in the Adelaide Hills. It's 17 farms, orchards and flower fields, all doing pick-your-own, farm gate stalls or seasonal visits, drawn onto one illustrated map by Piccadilly-raised artist Chris Edser.
Grab a free printed map from Hahndorf Academy, Mount Lofty Summit or any farm on the trail, or see every farm on the trail here. If you collect yours from the Academy, give yourself a few minutes at the open drawing table inside, set up with native flowers and seed pods until Sunday 11 October.
Early October is the moment the Hills changes gear. Blossom is through the Lenswood and Forest Range orchards, the flower farms are waking up one after another, and the first farm gates are swinging back open.
Here's where to head on the trail this week, the weekend of Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, plus the walks, picnic spots and history worth pairing with each farm.
New to the trail? Meet all 17 farms, what they grow and when to visit in our complete guide to the Harvest & Bloom Trail →
SPRING FLOWER FARMS
Where to head in early October
Spring belongs to the flower growers, and this is when they're at their best.
1. Blumenfeld Flowers (Lenswood)
At Blumenfeld Flowers in Lenswood, 50 acres of proteas and native flowers are coming into their own. Their protea bouquet sessions run until Saturday 17 October, so the weekends of 10 and 17 October are your window.
Lobethal is ten minutes down the road. Prussian families settled it in 1842 and named it the "Valley of Praise". The old Onkaparinga Woollen Mill made the famous Onkaparinga blankets for more than a century, and it now lives on as Fabrik, an arts and heritage hub. Wander through, then take a picnic up to Lobethal Bushland Park, where tall stringybark forest wraps around two reservoirs.
Where: Lenswood
Bouquet sessions: until Saturday 17 October
Pair it with: Fabrik and Lobethal Bushland Park
Book a session
2. Kidman Flower Company (Balhannah)
Over at Balhannah, Kidman Flower Company grows more than 60 Australian and South African native varieties, all pesticide-free. The farm gate is open Mondays and Thursdays for freshly made bouquets and bunches to arrange at home, with workshops through the season. Message them before you visit to check they are there.
If you're heading that way on Saturday 10 October, start at the Oakbank Market (second Saturday of the month), where local makers and growers fill the memorial hall until 2pm. Oakbank is also where the Amy Gillett Bikeway begins: 22 kilometres of flat, sealed trail away from the road. It's easy going with a pram or a wheelchair.
Where: 67 Tanahmerah Road, near Balhannah
Farm gate: Mondays and Thursdays, 8:30am to 5pm, April to November
Pair it with: Oakbank Market and the Amy Gillett Bikeway
More info
3. Hahndorf Flower Farm (Hahndorf)
Hahndorf Flower Farm runs 90-minute pick-your-own sessions and self-guided garden wanders through October, Wednesday to Sunday, weather permitting, among cottage gardens and heritage cottages built by German settlers in the 1800s. There are picnic stops along the way, so bring lunch and take your time. Bookings are essential, and spring weekends fill fast. A Sunday morning session, before the crowds and the warmth of the afternoon, is the pick of them.
Hahndorf itself is the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia, founded in 1839 by Lutheran families who named it after the captain who brought them here. The heritage walk along the main street picks out the old Fachwerk buildings, each with a plaque telling its story. Just out of town, The Cedars was home to painter Hans Heysen, and his studio is the oldest purpose-built artist's studio open to the public in Australia. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4:30pm (book a tour ahead), and the Artist's Walk takes you through the bushland to the spots where he sat and painted the gums.
Where: Hahndorf
Spring sessions: Wednesday to Sunday through October, bookings essential
Pair it with: the Hahndorf heritage walk and The Cedars
Book a session
4. Hillview Flowers (Mylor)
In Mylor, Hillview Flowers is a family farm that grows its dahlias in the field. Visits are by arrangement only. Tubers are available from late October through to December, so if you've wanted dahlias in your own garden this summer, now is the time to order.
Where: Mylor
Visits: by arrangement
Tubers: late October to December
More info
A SLOW SATURDAY
Saturday 10 October: farmers market, wetland walk and a cellar door
Not every good farm day needs a bucket.
5. Gooseberry Hill Farm (Mount Barker)
Start early at the Adelaide Hills Farmers Market in Mount Barker (one of many in our guide to every Adelaide Hills market), where Gooseberry Hill sets up every Saturday morning. They grow spray-free flowers, and their stall is a lovely way to start the day. Saturday 10 October is the Mini Makers Market, with young makers running their own stalls alongside, so bring the kids and some pocket money.
Then walk off breakfast at Laratinga Wetlands on the edge of town. Its flat main circuit is about 2 kilometres (or 2.6 kilometres on the Sacred Ibis Trail), built to disability access standards, with benches every 300 metres, plenty of birdlife, and dogs welcome on lead. It suits everyone, from little legs to grandparents.
Where: Adelaide Hills Farmers Market, Mann Street, Mount Barker
When: Saturdays, 8:30am to 12:30pm
Pair it with: Laratinga Wetlands
More info
6. Jauma (Lenswood)
From midday, Jauma's cellar door in Lenswood is open. It's a certified organic orchard and natural winery. The cherries aren't ready yet, but the wine is, and it's the kind of afternoon that's better when nobody has to drive back down the freeway after it. Finish at Prancing Pony in Totness, a stop on our Adelaide Hills brewery trail, where rOktoberfest on Saturday 10 October has a live band and a big table waiting from 6pm.
Where: Lenswood
Cellar door: Saturdays, 12pm to 5pm
Pair it with: rOktoberfest at Prancing Pony, Totness, Saturday 10 October
More info
SUNDAY
Sunday 11 October: forest picnics, gold diggings and a country market
7. Jurlique Farm (Biggs Flat)
Down at Biggs Flat, Jurlique runs booked guided walks, about an hour and a half, through the gardens of its biodynamic skincare farm year-round. Spring is the season to go, with the gardens in full growth and the air smelling the way you'd hope.
Kuitpo Forest is close by, and it's one of the best places in the Hills to bring the dog. They're welcome on lead along the trails and at the picnic grounds among the pines, though not in the native forest reserves. For longer walks with the dog, see our dog-friendly hikes in the Adelaide Hills. On the way back through Echunga, stop at the Jupiter Creek Diggings. Gold was found near Echunga in 1852, making it South Australia's first proclaimed goldfield. The Jupiter Creek Heritage Trail loops past old shafts and tunnels, and you can still fossick with hand tools (closed on total fire ban days).
Then head to Meadows, where the Country Market (second Sunday of the month) fills the Memorial Hall with local produce, baking and handmade craft until 3pm.
Where: Biggs Flat
Garden walks: about 90 minutes, book ahead
Pair it with: Kuitpo Forest, the Jupiter Creek Diggings and Meadows Country Market
More info
SPRINGWOOD AND THE SUMMIT
Springwood Farm, Mount Lofty Botanic Garden and the Summit
8. Springwood Farm (Summertown)
Springwood Farm at Summertown is open again for the season. Its self-serve honesty stall is stocked with homemade berry ice cream, sorbet, jams, lemon curd and chutney, with fresh berries and figs to follow as summer comes on. It's an easy stop on the way through, and a better one to finish on, with a jar of jam for the drive home.
It's minutes from Mount Lofty Botanic Garden, which is at its spring best in October. The Lakeside Trail is a flat, sealed path, ideal for prams and wheelchairs, and the rest of the garden tumbles down steep gullies for those after a climb. The garden is dog-free, so save it for a day when the dog stays home. Up the hill, the Mount Lofty Summit lookout gives you the whole city at your feet, beside the white obelisk of Flinders Column.
Where: Summertown
Honesty stall: open again for the season
Pair it with: Mount Lofty Botanic Garden and the Summit lookout
More info
COMING SOON
Strawberries, cherries, lavender and sunflowers
For the full season-by-season rundown, see our guide to pick your own in the Adelaide Hills.
Strawberries open at Beerenberg in Hahndorf from November. For a lot of Hills families that's the official start of the picking year, and they've been letting people into the rows since 1975.
Then come cherries:
- A.T. Thompson Cherries, a biodynamic farm free of weedicides, hormones and fungicides.
- Jauma, picking among its organic trees.
- Kenton Valley Cherries, six generations in, with the much-loved Cherry Shed Cafe.
- Bishop Orchards in Basket Range, growing cherries since 1871 with more than 20 varieties. It sells from the farm gate rather than offering pick-your-own.
Bishop Orchards is a short drive from Marble Hill at Norton Summit. It was built in 1878 as the Governor's summer residence, burnt out in the bushfire of January 1955, and has been patiently restored by local owners. Its grounds open for hilltop tours only a handful of days a year (the house itself stays closed), and the next is the weekend of 23 to 25 October.
After that, summer gets busy:
- Hahndorf Lavender Estate hits peak bloom in December and January, with around 50,000 plants.
- Atkins Farm opens its 1920s sunflower paddock in January, in bookable 50-minute sessions. The early ones catch the softest light.
- Figs come on at Glen Ewin Estate, one of Australia's largest fig orchards, from February.
- Apples follow at Plummers in Forest Range, on land the Plummer family has farmed for 120 years, from late February to May.
DOGS, PRAMS AND PICNICS
Dog-friendly, accessible and picnic spots near the trail
- Dog-friendly walks: Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker (on lead); Kuitpo Forest trails and picnic grounds (on lead).
- Wheelchair and pram friendly: Laratinga Wetlands main circuit; Amy Gillett Bikeway; Lakeside Trail at Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.
- Picnic spots: Hahndorf Flower Farm picnic stops; Lobethal Bushland Park; Kuitpo Forest picnic grounds.
- Quieter walks: for trails away from the crowds, see our peaceful hikes in the Adelaide Hills and 10 km hikes.
- History: Hahndorf heritage walk; The Cedars, Hahndorf; Fabrik, Lobethal; Jupiter Creek Diggings, Echunga; Marble Hill, Norton Summit.
TIPS FOR THE DAY
Visiting Adelaide Hills farms
Check opening times on the farm's socials that morning, because seasons move by the week and pick-your-own can sell out by lunch. Book where required. Wear closed shoes and pack a hat and an esky, because you'll buy more than you planned. And two farms in a day is plenty. The rest will keep until tomorrow.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Harvest & Bloom Trail
What is the Harvest & Bloom Trail?
A self-guided trail of 17 farms, farm gate stalls, orchards and flower fields across the Adelaide Hills, shown on a free illustrated map by artist Chris Edser. It was created by Adelaide Hills Pantry and Adelaide Hills Tourism.
Where can I get a Harvest & Bloom Trail map?
Free printed maps are available at Hahndorf Academy, Mount Lofty Summit and the farms on the trail. You can also download it from visitadelaidehills.com.au/harvest-bloom-trail.
What can you pick in the Adelaide Hills in October?
October is flower season: proteas and natives at Blumenfeld Flowers and Kidman Flower Company, and spring flowers at Hahndorf Flower Farm. Strawberries start at Beerenberg in November, followed by cherries in late November and December.
Are dogs allowed on the Harvest & Bloom Trail?
It depends on the farm, so check before you go. Nearby, dogs are welcome on lead at Laratinga Wetlands and in Kuitpo Forest (outside the native forest reserves). Dogs are not allowed at Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.
Do I need to book?
Some farms require bookings, including Hahndorf Flower Farm and Atkins Farm, and Hillview Flowers is by arrangement. Always check opening times on the farm's website or socials on the day.
KEEP EXPLORING
More local guides to the Adelaide Hills