An Adelaide Hills Attraction
Discover a cool climate garden with its extensive spring and early summer floral displays. The 97 hectare gardens follow the contours of the Adelaide hills through gullies and the hillsides on the eastern slopes of Mount Lofty overlooking Piccadilly Valley.
The Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens is steep in places, for mobile impaired visitors stick to the lower car park and walk around the lakeside trail which is relatively flat and wheelchair accessible.
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden is not part of Cleland National Park, South Australia (Mount Lofty summit) however both locations are managed by government agencies. There is Adelaide Botanic Garden and state wide National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia.
MOUNT LOFTY BOTANIC GARDEN ROOMS

- HERITAGE ROSE GARDEN is a riot of colour in spring
- WOODLAND GARDEN is a autumn favourite for its burst of orange, rust and red foliage. Paths wander the hillside slopes connecting upper and lower gardens with great views of the MAIN LAKE
- FERN GULLY with its NZ collection is a temperate forest delight
The best time to visit Mount Lofty Botanic Garden, SA invokes the classic garden answer, spring for extensive displays of roses, magnolias and rhododendrons and camellias and autumn for burst of foliage colour. Remember to check Southern Hemisphere seasons.

Check availability on hotels close to Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.
- RHODODENDRON GARDEN, an impressive Australian collection. The best time to visit is from August to October.
- GONWANDANA THEMED GULLEY, imagine where dinosaurs roamed the earth, plants such as Ginkos have been planted with a Gondwanan theme. Look for clues of plant’s shared DNA.
- SPRING GULLY, offers visitors a chance to view the past. The permanent spring was once used by local market gardeners as their main water supply. Look for plant signage describing rare indigenous flora.
- SOUTHEAST ASIAN INSPIRED GARDEN
- DWARF CONIFER LAWN is fun for kids with miniature dwarf conifers showcasing the panoramic views of the gardens from the manicured lawn.


WHEN IS MOUNT LOFTY SUMMIT ROAD OPEN?
Mount Lofty Summit Road gate (the road to Cleland Wildlife Park) is open from 7:30am to 5pm. Mount Lofty Summit is open from 6am to 11pm. Utopia @ Waterfall Gully restaurant opening hours are available on their website.
Waterfall Gully – National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia.
WHAT IS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN WATERFALL GULLY TO MOUNT LOFTY BOTANIC GARDENS?
By car 25 minutes, 17.5 km: for walking details check map for information.
The Waterfall Gully carpark is not large and often congested in the weekends.
Mount Lofty is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about 15 km east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.
16.84km from Adelaide
Cleland SA 5152, Australia
CAN YOU DRIVE FROM MOUNT LOFTY BOTANIC GARDENS TO THE MOUNT LOFTY SUMMIT CAR PARK?
You can drive from the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens to the Mount Lofty summit carpark. The distance is approximately 7 km. Between 11.00 am to 3.00 pm you will encounter a number of large tourist buses. For further information about Mount Lofty summit check HERE.
Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens has a number of significant public art installations dotted around. There are several works by Greg Johns – one of Australia’s best known and most successful contemporary sculptors. For mobility impaired there is the Lakeside Trail one of the gardens highlights.

You can purchase food and drink at the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens in the weekends and public holidays from a pop up food truck. However attendance is not guaranteed.
There are FREE GUIDED TOURS of the gardens every Thursday (except Christmas Day) departing at 10.30am from the Lower Car Park (entry via Lampert Road). For more information or to organise special interest or private walks visit the Friends of the Botanic Gardens website.

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