Little Para River Trail

The Little Para Trail traverses 16.5kms from the hilly escarpments in the east, to Barker Inlet in the west. You can experience diverse areas of remnant eucalyptus woodlands, grasslands, samphire and mangroves.

Starting in the hilly escarpments in the east of Northern Adelaide and finishing at Barker Inlet in the west. The Little Para River has many attractions for all to enjoy, meandering through many significant sites that played an important role in the early development of Salisbury. Of great importance are the remnants of natural landscapes along the river’s edge including varieties of eucalyptus woodland and native golden wattle. The richness of the area provided an immediate focus for settlement which began in 1837.

Council began acquiring land in the 1960s for the purpose of providing open space for public use and a belt of parklands surrounding the Little Para River with accompanied trails. The most significant trail in the City of Salisbury, The Little Para River Trail allows riders to follow a predominantly flat 5km unsealed trail (apart from a short on-road detour at Porter Street, Salisbury) West from Carisbrooke Park (next to Main North Road) to the Salisbury Town centre (behind the Parabanks Shopping Centre).

From the Salisbury Town centre, the Little Para River Trail has a 5km all-weather (bitumen) surface option on one side of the trail to Port Wakefield Road at Bolivar. The all-weather (bitumen) surface then continues west under Port Wakefield Road, and runs alongside the White Road Wetlands and around Globe Derby Park, linking with the Dry Creek Trail. The Little Para River trail also runs east from Carisbrook Park (Salisbury Park) under Main North Road and up the hill above the Old Spot Hotel for 1.4km before becoming Private Property (includes steep gravel sections).

Points to join the Trail (East to West) include:

• Carisbrooke Reserve (5.7km) – Main North Road, Salisbury Park (opposite the Old Spot Hotel) top and bottom car park. (Top car park accessible via Slip Road by Malinya Drive; bottom car park accessible directly off of Main North Road)
• Happy Home Reserve (9.6km) – Start the walk at the Happy Home Reserve in Salisbury. The trail is opposite the car park.
• Little Para Wetland (6.6km) – Start at the OTR (On The Run) service station on Port Wakefield Road at Bolivar. This trail is suitable for wheelchairs and pram users. During drier times, the end loop around the Whites Road Wetland along Jones Road may be suitable for wheels. The adventurous northern section detailed is not suitable for wheels.