Pack a rug, a thermos and whatever you picked up on the way. These are my favourite free picnic spots around Adelaide: two reservoir reserves with water-and-hills views, and three quiet gardens for a slower sit. All five are free to enter.
Happy Valley Reservoir Reserve
- Area: Happy Valley, southern suburbs
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: 1–2 hours
- Best time: Late afternoon
- Official link: SA Water – Happy Valley
There are two grassy picnic areas with shelters and barbecues, and a dam wall lookout with views up to the Hills. For a short walk, the Southern Loop is 2 km (about 25 minutes, Grade 2). In daylight saving it’s open 7:30am–8pm. It closes on Total Fire Ban days, and on algal-treatment days it stays closed until 1pm. The car parks are off Berkeley Road and at the Kenihans Road roundabout. No dogs.
Hope Valley Reservoir Reserve
- Area: Hope Valley, north-east suburbs
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: 1–2 hours
- Best time: Golden hour
- Official link: SA Water – Hope Valley
You get picnic tables along the trails, a barbecue near the nature playground, and lookout shelters on the dam wall facing the Hills. There’s wheelchair access via a ramp at the southern end near Lyons Road. Opening hours are the same as Happy Valley, and it’s also closed on Christmas Day. No dogs.
Adelaide Himeji Garden
- Area: South Park Lands (corner of South Terrace and Glen Osmond Road)
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: 45 minutes
- Best time: Early evening
- Official link: City of Adelaide – Himeji Garden
This is more of a quiet sit than a picnic. It has a raked dry garden and a lake garden with rocks to perch on. It opens at 8am daily and closes at 7:30pm for the rest of October, 8pm in November and 8:30pm in December.
Waite Arboretum
- Area: Urrbrae
- Cost: Free
- Time needed: 1–2 hours
- Best time: Daylight hours
- Official link: Adelaide University – Waite Arboretum
There are 25 hectares and more than 2,300 trees from around the world, plus a free app that tells you what you’re sitting under. It’s open daily in daylight, except Christmas Day and fire ban days. Right now the Urrbrae House car park and the garden toilets are closed, so plan around that.
Carrick Hill
- Area: Springfield, foothills
- Cost: Free gardens (house museum is paid)
- Time needed: 1.5–2 hours
- Best time: Wednesday to Sunday
- Official link: Carrick Hill – Find us and opening hours
The formal gardens look across Adelaide to the ocean. Garden entry is free, Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays, 10am–4:30pm. Know the rules before you go: no BYO alcohol, no barbecues, nothing staked into the lawn (so no umbrellas or pop-ups), and dogs must be on a lead.
Pairs with: Combine a garden sit with one of my easy Adelaide walks, or stay out for one of my free sunset spots around Adelaide. Love a garden? The Adelaide botanic gardens are free too.
Top photo: RegionVisitor90 (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons. Opening hours, prices and closures were checked against each official page on 10 October 2026; please check again before you go.