The 6 Best Bike Trails for Kids and Families in Adelaide

The biking scene in Adelaide is experiencing exponential growth. The city has scenic and easy-to-ride bike trails that are ideal for family getaways. 

Adelaide also has diversified bike trails perfect for different family adventures. In the city, you can ride on rural paths, coastlines, safe urban tracks, plains, and woodlands.

In this article, we have listed Adelaide’s most kid and family-friendly bike trails. Continue reading and learn where to go on your next biking adventure!

The Best Bike Trails for Kids and Families in Adelaide

Belair National Park: Why You Should Bike There

Belair National Park is a peaceful area for your family to take a ride in. This well-protected park will let you discover the beauty of nature while you’re zooming on two wheels.

Belair National Park has many bike trails. There, you can ride through lakes, picnic zones, and woodlands. 

The bike trails in the park are also rich in history and preserved wildlife. Moreover, they offer an escape from the city’s pollution.

The air in Australia’s oldest national park is fresh. The bike trails are also filled with the fragrant scent of wild plants and flowers.

Belair National Park’s allure does not end with its dose of fresh air and the perfumed smell of the local flora. You’ll also encounter the wildlife of the national park while biking there.

The wildlife of Belair National Park consists of kangaroos, koalas, birds, and echidnas. You can take snaps of these animals while riding or resting in the park. 

Recommended Belair National Park Biking Trails

Belair National Park has biking trails for beginners and advanced riders alike. 

Kids and families can ride through the fire trails from Playford Lake. The fire trails will connect to Belair National Park’s Adventure Playground.

Adventure Playground is the park’s play zone. It’s perfect for kids and families who want to play with obstacle courses, tunnels, and wooden forts.

You can also ride through the beginner-friendly Microcarpa Loop Trails. We recommended these trails because they are the safest and easiest bike tracks in the park. 

These trails are free from zooming vehicles and rough surfaces, but keep in mind that this is a shared way. Other people typically stroll, run, and bike on these trails so always be on the lookout and ride safely. 

Kids and families may cruise through the harder 13 km Adventure Loop Trail too. This longer trail is suitable for bikers who are adept at prolonged and difficult rides.

Other Activities You Can Do in Belair National Park

Aside from cycling, families visiting Belair National Park can also do the following:

• build cubbies in the adventure playground,
• explore creeks, trails, and hollowed-out trees, 
• relax in the picnic areas, 
• visit the native plant nursery, play tennis, and 
• spot wildflowers, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.

Happy Valley Reservoir: Why You Should Bike There

Happy Valley Reservoir is perfect for families that want longer bike rides. 

The preserved reservoir boasts nearly 30 km of bike trails. You can also see crystal-clear water while riding in this area. 

If you want to experience a shorter ride, Happy Valley Reservoir also got you covered. 

The reservoir offers shorter loop trails for beginners. These trails have pathways that can be easily memorized. 

Happy Valley Reservoir also offers a geocaching adventure for experienced bikers. 

Geocaching is like a modern hunting game wherein bikers must locate certain items (in this case, landmarks). Bikers must use GPS-enabled devices in finding these important landmarks.

These landmarks will serve as navigating tools.

Happy Valley Reservoir’s geocaching adventure covers nearly 9 km of distance. It’s up to the riders how they can find their way out of this unorthodox trail.

If you have inexperienced riders, it’s best to avoid the geocaching adventure. It’s easy to get lost on this path if you don’t have proper biking training and knowledge. 

Happy Valley Reservoir is also a place of serenity. You’ll only hear the sound of chirping birds and flowing water while biking in this place. 

The reservoir’s scenery is also a perfect place to take snaps while resting. 

Recommended Happy Valley Reservoir Biking Trails

Happy Valley Reservoir’s Southern Loop and Woodland Loop are the best beginner spots. These two trails have smooth surfaces and few ascending spots. 

You can memorize the Southern and Woodland Loops easily too. 

The Southern Loop is only 2 km long. You can ride the entire loop in about 10 minutes.

The Woodland Loop on the other hand is 4 km long. Bikers can finish this trail in approximately 15 minutes.

Experienced riders can take on the geocaching adventure, Boundary Loop, and Shoreline Loop.

As said before, the geocaching adventure will let you create your route. This is a bit risky but is fun and exciting!

The Boundary Loop is 10.5 km long. You can finish this loop in about 40 minutes.

The reservoir’s Shoreline Loop is 11 km long. Bikers can complete this loop in about 45 minutes. 

Bikers can also use the off-track Boundary and Shoreline Loops. They can use these loops as geocaching adventure trails. 

Happy Valley Reservoir’s Conditions of Access

These are the rules that must be strictly followed while in Happy Valley Reservoir:

• Swimming and immersion in water are not permitted
• Dogs—except for assistance dogs—are not permitted
• Motorised craft of any nature (petrol or electric, whether on a kayak or boat), including motorized remote-control vessels, are not permitted
• When on an SA Water site, it’s your general obligation to act reasonably and responsibly and be considerate of others.
• Visitors should comply with any directions given by SA Water personnel 
• You must carry valid identification.
• You are responsible for your health and safety. 
• You may only enter or exit an SA Water site by the entrance or exit provided unless there is an emergency.

Other Activities You Can Do in Happy Valley Reservoir

What makes Happy Valley Reservoir a premier bonding or vacation spot is that kids and families can also do the following things if they ever get tired of biking:

• go fishing if they present a fishing permit, 
• go kayaking/canoeing, 
• do wildlife spectating and birdwatching, 
• do picnics,
• and see the spectacular views of the reservoir up to the Adelaide Hills.

The last activity is firmly endorsed because it will truly captivate you with a view that you’ll never forget!

O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park: Why You Should Bike There

Take your family to O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park if you want varied bike trails.

The park is perfect for a good old-fashioned biking adventure. It offers many bike trails you can ride depending on your skill level. 

With over 10 bike trails, the national park has the greatest number of bike trails in all the spots found in this article.

O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park is also perfect for socializing because a lot of people use the bike trails there. The good thing is that despite the huge number of people going there, the park is still clean and relaxing!

Your kids can even interact with horses and dogs. Plus, the park has all sorts of rare birdlife!  

Recommended Biking Trails in O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park 

Listed below are the various bike trails you can ride on in O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park. The level of biking knowledge needed to take them on is also specified. 

Always remember to not pressure yourself into taking a more difficult trail. All of them are fun anyway!

Easy

• Easy (1.2 km) – a descending-only trail perfect for novice riders and children
• Upstart (1.95km) – an introductory uphill trail designed for novice riders and children and perfect for developing pedaling power
• Futures and Options Pt 1 (710 m) – an easy-to-ride trail that connects the car park to the western bike park trails
• Sylvanian Families (650 m) – a forest trail perfect for families wanting a relaxing ride through the foliage
• Wiggles (600 m) – an exciting trail that lives up to its name for it has wiggling pathways
• Grom Flow (1.3 km) – a descending flow trail specifically designed for children that want to practice their biking control

Intermediate

• Uprising (830 m) – a climbing trail perfect for more experienced riders
• Dam revamp (840 m) – a descending trail full of jumps and berms 
• Flat pedal city (550 m) – a flat-out trail that offers optional gaps
• Blue luge (720 m) – a descending trail that features fast bermed corners and rocky obstacles
• Vincenzo’s Gulf (2 km) – a climbing trail that lets you enjoy the beauty of Gulf St. Vincent
• Winding Wraith (700 m) – a remnant of the park’s original trail network
• Quick Link (350 m) – a trail that connects to the carpark
• Frogger (850 m) – a trail that will lead you to a big green frog statue across the Southern Expressway

Advanced

• Shapeshifter (690 m) – a descending trail with downhill sections and rock features
• Flight Club (850 m) – a bike park type of trail full of berms, jumps, gaps, and transitions
• Rock XCarving (1.25 km) – a cross-country trail with extremely technical and steep rock sections.

Other Activities You Can Do in O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park

Aside from taking on its multiple bike trails, kids and their families can also go bushwalking and horse riding in O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park.

The park’s diverse green fields are perfect for bushwalking exploration. There are low pastures and higher landscapes in the area where bushwalkers can walk or hike.

O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park will also allow you to go horse riding along its fire access tracks. 

Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park: Why You Should Bike There

Taking a ride in Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park is a treat because of its modern and traditional bike trails.

With nearly 16 km of diverse bike trails, you will have no shortage of bike trail options in this unique park. 

Some trails combine urbanity with the beauty of nature’s well-kept gems. If your family wants a more suburban bike track, this is the place to be. 

The recreational park has BMX jump tracks for beginners and experts alike. These tracks have an abundance of fun obstacles. 

Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park also has ideal rural and natural biking spots. 

The park has a seasonal creek and eucalyptus trees you can see while biking. 

The trails there also offer a great view of the surrounding Adelaide Plains. 

Recommended Biking Trails in Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park

Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park has two main biking zones—an easy zone and an intermediate zone. 

In the easy zone, families can safely traverse through natural surface trails and timber structures. The park’s intermediate zone, on the other hand, promises a more challenging set of bike trails.

The park’s easy zone has the following bike trails:

• Kids Zone (50 m) – a beginner trail that lets kids practice riding on dirt. This is the perfect spot for mastering balance. The surface here will train kids to ride on uneven grounds without endangering them.
• River Red Gum Loop (2.3km loop) – an easy-going trail free of roughness that follows the Viaduct Creek

The park’s intermediate zone, on the other hand, offers the following bike trails:

• The Bowl – Pump Track (100 m) – a pump track that offers several features and areas for riders with a varying range of biking abilities
• Seaview Loop (2.2 km loop) – a bike track with loose and steep sections and amazing views of the surrounding park and sea
• Grey Box Loop (2.8 km loop) – a trail that lets you experience the Grassy Grey Box Woodlands restoration work and is best ridden in an anti-clockwise direction
• Diagonal Ascent (700 m) – a one-way, climbing-only trail up to the ridge that will let you choose a different route down
• Intermediate DH1, 2 & 3 (2 km) – a one-way, descending trail that lets you tie up new and old downhill bike paths

Other Activities You Can Do in Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park

Aside from cycling on its different bike trails, Shepherd’s Hill Recreational Park will allow kids and their families to do the following:

• bushwalking, 
• horse riding, 
• hugging the old grey box trees, 
• try archery, 
• and volunteer in a cause—the environmental rehabilitation of the park—while experiencing the beauty of the local birdlife.

The latter is a one-of-a-kind experience that will let you have fun while admiring the beauty of the park.

It’s also a monumental activity that lets you teach your kids the importance of camaraderie and environmental preservation.

Coast to Vines Rail Trail and Why You Should Bike There

The Coast to Vines Rail Trail is worth the long ride because it offers historic and picturesque bike pathways.

It’s a 37 km trail that goes along historical landmarks and railways. The trails also have enthralling views of the Adelaide Coastline and vineyards. 

Your family will appreciate the rustic simplicity of the Coast to Vines Rail Trail. 

We suggest that you take this trail during sunset or sunrise. During these times, the coastline and the vineyard’s beauty truly shine. 

During sunsets, the Coast to Vines Rail Trail gets painted with a warm orange hue. It’s also cooler during this time of the day!

The sunrise, on the other hand, gives the historic trail a soothing light bluish tone. The temperature around this time is warmer than during sunsets, but it still feels good on the skin!

The only concern with the Coast to Vines Rail Trail is that it might be a bit far, especially if you don’t have a car. You have nothing to worry about though because there are many ways to hire a car to get there.

Recommended Biking Trails in Coast to Vines Rail Trail

Approximately 37 km, the Coast to Vines Trail is a long and easy-to-ride trail with completely sealed surfaces perfect for beginners. 

Families can either decide to take a short ride or spend the entire day riding from the coastal cliffs at Marino through the suburbs of Hallett Cove, Reynella, Morphett Vale, and Hackham.

You can also take the Seaford Rise through McLaren Vale down to the Willunga.

Other Activities You Can Do in Coast to Vines Rail Trail

You and your kids can watch glow-in-the-dark plant and animal artwork during the nighttime in the Coast to Vines Rail Trail! 

There are also picnic, BBQ, and playground areas such as Glade Crescent and Hugh Johnson Reserves along the way.

Myponga Reservoir Reserve: Why You Should Bike There

Myponga Reservoir Reserve makes for a beautiful ride because of its captivating scenery. 

The bike trails of the reserve will let you ride through vast open plains and pine forests. You’ll also witness the crystalline water and native vegetation surrounding the entire area.

The local wildlife also sprawls in every corner of the reserve. The smaller ones can be even seen beside some of the bike trails.

Myponga Reservoir Reserve’s bike paths will also allow you to see the view above the Myponga dam wall. When you reach this spot, you will see a different perspective of the reservoir and spillway.

What makes the bike trails of this reservoir so special is the emotional solace it offers. The combination of the plain and the sunlight makes the reserve look like a living artwork. 

Recommended Biking Trails in Myponga Reservoir Reserve

For beginners, the southeastern side of Myponga Reservoir Reserve is the perfect place to ride on. It’s a 3.3 km ride across open plains and forested areas. 

Experienced riders seeking a more adventurous path can take Myponga Reservoir Reserve’s 3 km Western Loop. This loop provides a few downhill sections on unsealed roads.

Other Activities You Can Do in Myponga Reservoir Reserve

In Myponga Reservoir Reserve, kids and their families 

• can go fishing (if they possess a fishing permit), 
• go kayaking/canoeing, 
• go for a jog, walk, or hike, 
• and do picnics. 

The plains in this area are perfect picnic and resting spots if you get tired of biking. You can even elevate the experience by pairing the quaint view with mouthwatering food you’ve prepared yourself!

Safety Cycling Tips for Beginners

• Never go biking without wearing an approved bicycle helmet
• Make sure that your biking helmet is properly fitted and fastened
• Always wear protective cycling gear and pads 
• If biking on a shared trail used by other people, always obey the road rules, including traffic lights, stop signs, and give way signs
• Travel with the speed that ensures your safety and the safety of pedestrians
• Properly set your seat height to whatever gives you the most control, comfort, and pedaling power
• Don’t pressure yourself to do too much because you might get injured. Start slowly and allow your body to gradually adjust to longer distances
• Always carry a spare tube or patch kit in case you get a flat tire
• Always bring an adequate amount of water and food when biking, especially for longer rides
• Wear vibrant clothing so that you’ll be visible to everyone using the path you are riding on
• Learn how to pace and ride with a group to avoid crashes
• Ride predictably so that other pedestrians and other riders can read your movements easily
• Master how to use the gears of your bike and when to use them
• Always check your bike brakes if they are working 

FAQs about Biking with Kids