Find it at: Hope Valley, SA

Fantastic news with the announcement that from December 13 2020, we will be able to walk, cycle and explore Hope Valley Reservoir for the first time in 150 years (give or take a year or two). Construction is about to commence, with first cab off the rank being a network of walking and cycling trails which will take you from the reservoir and link with existing paths alongside the O-Bahn busway.

The fabulous new nature playground opened in June 2020 and it is a beautiful space for the kids to explore, with plenty of large boulders, huge logs, nooks and hidey holes to use their imagination in. But this isn’t totally without those creature comforts of home, with toilets thankfully!

The playground is better accessed off Georgia Court (if you’re not up for a walk), but if using the main entry its located across the dam wall at the end. There’s toilets and LOTS of mud (when we visited at least….but it was the middle of winter!) but we wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing though, what kid doesn’t love mud and splashing in puddles. Just make sure you pack appropriate clothes and shoes. You will also find a few under cover seating areas as well as a water play area with a drinking fountain.

Constructed in 1873 with a water capacity of 2.9 billion litres, the Hope Valley Reservoir was the second reservoir built in Adelaide and is currently the city’s oldest reservoir still in use.

The site in Adelaide’s north east is among several reservoirs across South Australia that the State Government has opened for recreational activities like fishing, kayaking, hiking and biking.

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