Some weekends we don’t want to walk anywhere. We just want good music, a full thermos and a winding road. These are the Adelaide Hills scenic drives we come back to, all signposted tourist routes and none longer than about 40 kilometres. Do one on its own or link a couple into a loop.
Gorge Scenic Drive: Castambul to Cudlee Creek
- Area: Gorge Road, north-east of the city
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: under an hour without stops
- Best time: Morning
- Official link: Visit Adelaide Hills – driving
The quickest way to feel like you’ve left the city. Turn off Lower North East Road onto Gorge Road and wind up through Castambul, past Gorge Wildlife Park, to Cudlee Creek. From there it joins the Torrens Valley drive below, so it makes a natural first leg.
Torrens Valley Scenic Drive (B10): Tea Tree Gully to Mount Pleasant
- Area: Northern Adelaide Hills
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: about an hour without stops (37 km)
- Best time: Saturday morning, for the Mount Pleasant market
- Official link: Visit Adelaide Hills – driving
Vineyards, pine forest and bush, through Houghton and Inglewood and past the Chain of Ponds reservoirs. Gumeracha has the Big Rocking Horse, and Birdwood is home to the National Motor Museum. Time it for a Saturday and finish at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, which runs every Saturday from 8am to 12 noon.
Onkaparinga Valley Scenic Drive (B34): Hahndorf to Birdwood
- Area: Central Adelaide Hills
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: about 45 minutes without stops (34 km)
- Best time: Any day; the second Saturday for the Oakbank Market
- Official link: Visit Adelaide Hills – driving
Our favourite, and probably the prettiest. The road runs north from Hahndorf through Verdun, Balhannah, Oakbank, Woodside, Charleston and Mount Torrens to Birdwood, past wineries and roadside stalls. In Woodside, Melba’s Chocolate Factory (22 Henry Street) is free to visit and open 9am–4:30pm every day. It’s a working factory in an old cheese factory building, with rooms where you can see the heritage equipment, though what’s being made depends on the day.
Angas River Scenic Drive (B33): Stirling to Strathalbyn
- Area: Southern Adelaide Hills
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: about 45 minutes without stops (38 km)
- Best time: First Sunday, for the Mylor Market
- Official link: Visit Adelaide Hills – driving
Start in Stirling and follow the tree-lined road to Aldgate, then out through farmland to Mylor, Biggs Flat, the old gold-rush town of Echunga and historic Macclesfield, finishing in Strathalbyn. It’s the gentlest of the four, all farmland and big gums.
Making a day of it
Our go-to loop: up Gorge Road, along the Torrens Valley to Birdwood, then south down the Onkaparinga Valley to Hahndorf and home on the freeway. Pack a picnic, keep an eye out for roadside stalls, and have some cash on you just in case.
Pairs with: a market. Oakbank, Mylor and Stirling all have monthly markets on these routes. Our Adelaide Hills markets guide has the days. For a bakery stop with a view, see our Adelaide Hills bakery and lookout pairings.
Top photo: Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Opening hours, prices and closures were checked against each official page on 10 October 2026; please check again before you go.