Length: 5.8km
Duration: 3hrs
Grade: 4
Style: Circuit
Start: 612 Piggott Range Rd, Onkaparinga Hills
End: 612 Piggott Range Rd, Onkaparinga Hills

Location: Onkaparinga River National Park and Recreation Park
Closest Town:
Distance from CBD: 28.5 km
State: SA
Latitude: -35.14529955
Longitude: 138.5789659

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Bitumen Road

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Onkaparinga River National Park and Recreation Park...

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Horse Riding

Sundews River Circuit is a 5.8km, grade 4 circuit hike, located in Onkaparinga River National Park and Recreation Park, South Australia. The hike should take approximately 3hrs to complete.

Hike Summary

A 5.8km return loop, 2-4 hours return.

This trail descends from the Sundews Lookout along a contoured walking trail to the bottom of the gorge, and then follows the river downstream for 1.6km before returning via a steep fire track to the ridge and the car park.

The walk takes in two perennial waterholes, and a lookout. There are numerous glimpses into the river gorge from various parts of the trail.

The 1.6km of trail along the river is not well-formed, and involves some short rock scrambling. Current water levels and recent rainfall can impact on how hard this river section of trail is to follow. The trail is easiest to navigate when walking clockwise, as the fire trail exit is easily spotted, whereas when walking anticlockwise the walking trail exit may be harder to find.

Begins from the carpark at Gate 11 on Piggott Range Road (near junction of Upper Penneys Hill Road).

GPX file courtesy of Walking SA. File may not contain elevation data and may only represent half the length on return hikes.

About the region

In Onkaparinga River National Park, diverse hiking trails take you to cliff tops with magnificent views, or down to permanent rock pools teeming with life. You’ll see rugged ridge tops and the narrow river valley of the spectacular Onkaparinga Gorge. This park protects some of the finest remaining pockets of remnant vegetation in the Southern Adelaide region. Wherever you go, you’ll be among native wildlife such as birds, koalas, kangaroos and possums - you may even spot an echidna. Areas of the park were used as farmland for many years, so you can also discover heritage-listed huts and the ruins of houses built in the 1880s.