Trail Running SA

Trail Running in South Australia

Trail Running in South Australia
Sturt Gorge Recreation Park

Sturt Gorge Recreation Park

Date: Sun, 05 April 2015

Meet 8.00 a.m. (WINTER TIME – CLOCKS BACK THE PREVIOUS NIGHT) in Blackwood Football Club car park. Access from Coromandel Parade-Cummings St-Trevor Terrace-Craigburn Rd.

Blackwood Football Club have kindly let me borrow the key to its toilets. To thank the club there will be a donation bucket at the start. Please give something. I’ll have change.

There will be two courses, one of about 10 kms and one of 16 kms. Nearly all of these courses will be along footpaths in the recreation park, the Blackwood Hills Reserve, and the SA Water reserve in Sturt Gorge. The long course will include about 500m of ascent/descent.

For afterwards, Montagna Cafe at the northern end of Coromandel Parade, just south of the Blackwood roundabout, and on the western side of the Parade, opposite a big stone church.

Routes

Sturt Gorge Long Course (OLD)

Distance: approx 16.22 km

Altitude Range: approx 111 m

Total Climb: approx 320 m

The course starts in Blackwood Football Club car park, which is on Craigburn Rd. You reach this from Coromandel Parade, via Cummings St and Trevor Terrace.

  • From Blackwood Football Club car park, head west along bitumen road, through the gate, turn left and then right. Enter Sturt Gorge Recreation Park entrance on the left.
  • Follow Walk the Dog and Lakeview tracks downhill and past the lake.
  • After passing the lake on the left, go uphill along Horners Corners track. Follow this as far as the bitumen road. Turn round and come back along Gunners Run.
  • Gunners Run leads you back to the lake. Turn left, and immediately left again, along Little River track. Follow this until you reach Cow Bones Loop.
  • This takes you to an open gate on the left. Go through this, turn left, and continue downhill to a lake behind a dam wall. Turn around, and return to the gate, then turn left and continue along Cow Bones Loop.
  • This brings you to a closed gate. Go through this and turn left immediately.
  • Then after about 50m turn sharp left again along a narrow path among trees.
  • Follow this for one km, ignoring 4 successive turnoffs to the right.
  • Take the 5th turnoff down a steep hill. Go past stone ruin. This path brings you to a vehicle track. Go along this eastwards.
  • Across a stream bed, take a rough track up a steep hill. Follow this eastwards until you see houses on the right.
  • Continue until you reach the car park where you started.

Download GPX File | Full Screen | How to use these maps on your phone | Print map (PDF)

Sturt Gorge Short Course (OLD)

Distance: approx 10 km

Altitude Range: approx 86 m

Total Climb: approx 194 m

  • From Blackwood Football Club car park, head west along bitumen road, through the gate, turn left and then right. Enter Sturt Gorge Recreation Park entrance on the left.
  • Follow Walk the Dog and Lakeview tracks downhill and past the lake.
  • After passing the lake on the left, go uphill along Horners Corners track. When you reach the turnoff to Gunners Run, follow this.
  • Gunners Run leads you back to the lake. Turn left, and immediately left again, along Little River track.
    Follow this until you reach Cow Bones Loop.
  • Follow this until at the top of a hill, you reach a closed gate. Go through this and turn left immediately through a gate closed by a bar. Follow a track which goes steeply downhill.
  • Follow this track to the bottom of the gully, and continue to the right.
  • Follow this track along the bottom of a gully. When it starts to go uphill just after crossing a rocky stream, go uphill for about 100m, then take a rough path up a steep slope.  Continue eastwards until you reach the car park where you started.

Download GPX File | Full Screen | How to use these maps on your phone | Print map (PDF)

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