Birdwood's National Motor Museum's contemporary exhibition halls explore the stories of people and vehicles that have shaped Australia’s motoring history.

Discover how motor vehicles have opened up our country, linking some of the most isolated communities in the world. From the stately to the absurd, from the hand-built to the mass-produced, see the vehicles people loved and loathed, thrashed and pampered, in the pursuit of their motoring dreams!

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As an international centre for the collection, research, preservation, education and display of Australian road transport history, the National Motor Museum is much more than a collection of vehicles. It is a social history of the way we were, the way we are now and the way of the future.

Beerenberg Family Farm is a "must visit" for all food lovers visiting the Adelaide Hills. One of Australia's oldest family-owned jam, condiment and sauce producers, it is still run by the sixth generation of the Paech family on their Hahndorf farm.

Open all year round, 7 days a week (except Christmas Day), the farm shop is currently open 9am-5pm. Enjoy a leisurely browse through the complete collection of farm-made products in the delightful farm shop.

During strawberry season (November to April), bring the family and pick your own strawberries from 9am to last field entry at 4.15pm (November to April). Pay a small patch entry fee and then pay for the strawberries you pick.

The Kuitpo Forest Reserve was established in 1898 just 45 minutes' drive from Adelaide, near the rural township of Meadows.

It forms part of ForestrySA's 12,000 hectare Mount Lofty Ranges forest estate, providing sustainable softwood production within a picturesque community playground.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to these areas each year, to enjoy horse riding, bushwalking, mountain biking, camping and community forest events.

Forest hut accommodation is also available too book outside of fire season, at ForestrySA's Rocky Creek Hut, Woodcutter's Cottage and Tinjella Hut.

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The drive/ride to Kuitpo Forest via Brookman Road is a particularly picturesque view when the sun streams through the tree-lined road.

Take a walk on the wild side and engage with some of Australia’s most unique and curious wildlife, just 30 minutes from the city. While immersing yourself in the wonders of Cleland’s natural bush environment, you can see and discover more than 130 species of native wildlife. The Koala close-up experience and the hand feeding of kangaroos are definite must do’s!

- Scenic drive into the Adelaide Hills via the Cleland Conservation Park route, including a short stop at Mount Lofty Summit to witness panoramic views over Adelaide.

- Plenty of time to explore the self-guided discovery trails at your leisure – walk among and hand feed the free roaming wildlife.

- Park maps and a full orientation is provided along with valuable insights and inside tips.

Koala close-up experience – meet, touch and photograph Australia’s cutest inhabitant! *

- Listen to informative and engaging talks by Cleland park keepers at feeding times and explore the Ocean to Outback Interpretive Centre.

- All inclusive of Cleland Wildlife Park entry fees, bag of animal food, park orientation and return transfer. 

Lovers of fine art, charming gardens and famous family lives will have much to discover at The Cedars, a few minutes from historic Hahndorf. From 1912, this 36-acre (expanding to 132-acre) country property with its towering trees was home to iconic landscape painter and early conservationist Sir Hans Heysen, his wife Sallie and family of eight – including Nora, who became a famous artist in her own right.

Many of their captivating works are displayed in the original furnished home which played regular host to Royal visitors and celebrities from film, ballet and opera – such was the fame of this artist who captured the light, texture and personality of the Australian landscape like no other. But a very different painting excited visiting diva Anna Pavlova. Which one? You’ll find it inside.

Guided tours are offered of the house, the delightful original garden planted by Hans himself – and his completely intact studio. Here visitors can step back in time to see one of his works taking shape, surrounded by his materials, sketches and other artefacts – just as if the artist had stepped out for a break.

Located in the picturesque Adelaide Hills village of Prospect Hill, 7 km south west of Meadows, the museum consists of a complex of historic buildings along the main street, depicting the life of early pioneers. It is managed by the Prospect Hill Community Association.

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Visitors first enter the museum via the original general store and post office that was built in 1872 by George Thomas Griggs, Prospect Hill’s first postmaster, who was later succeeded by his son and grandson.  Although the area had been surveyed in 1840 and churches had been built soon after,  the building of the store signalled the beginnings of the town.  The name Prospect Hill did not come into use till 1873. This store building, known as the Ann Russell home, is laid out as room settings depicting early pioneer life, with a parlour, kitchen, two bedrooms and a room displaying old photographs.

There is a permanent exhibition telling the story of the devastating Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983, opened on 16 February 2008 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the disaster and funded by History SA.  Many historic buildings of Prospect Hill were lost during the fires including the original stone building that houses this exhibition.  Erected in 1872 by George Griggs, it was rebuilt following the fires, and officially opened by Griggs’ grandson Keith in 1992.  Upstairs there is a display about the local scout group, the RSL and the CWA.  It is the site where scouting first commenced in Prospect Hill in 1944 by Keith Griggs.

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Other buildings in the vicinity of the store are the cellar (also burnt out in the bushfires but restored in 1988), the blacksmith’s shop, and an old weatherboard school room dating from 1893, and moved from Meadows to the museum as the original school was burnt down in the 1983 bushfires.  Nearby there are the burnt out shells of three vehicles, a fire truck, a Model  T Ford used at the post office and an old Chevrolet.  Behind the museum buildings there is an unusual portable shepherd’s hut dating from the 1850s and once pulled by horses.

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A little further up the hill, a Dairy Museum is housed in an old 1940s dairy telling the story of the dairy industry from hand milking through to modern computerised dairies.  The exhibition was funded by History SA and opened in 2004.

Down the hill on the other side of the post office is the Flag Tree Shed which displays horse drawn buggies, stationary engines and early farm equipment.  It is near what was known as the Flag Tree (a flag pole atop a tree) and now marked by a cairn and plaque.  It was one of several ‘flag trees’ across the countryside used to signal the sighting of ships coming into port with immigrants, mail and goods.

Mount Lofty Botanic Garden overlooking the picturesque Piccadilly Valley, features displays of cool-climate plants, which thrive on the eastern slopes of Mount Lofty.

The Adelaide Hills Garden spans 97 hectares and is famous for its sprawling gullies, offering surprises during every season.

Spring is popular when the Garden sees stunning mass displays of magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias, while autumn transforms the Garden's leaves into a panorama of scarlets, yellows and bronzes.

Winter transports visitors to the Northern Hemisphere with the Garden often shrouded in mist and fog, while in summer the place to be is Fern Gully - one of the richest fern collections in Australia and the spot to find respite from the heat.

The Garden is home to a range of walking trails of varying difficulty. The Nature Trail offers a glimpse of the native flora that would've dominated the region prior to European settlement. The iconic Heysen Trail also passes through this section. The Lakeside Trail is a more tranquil affair, offering universal access and a range of exquisite sculptures featuring important environmental messages.

A picnic lunch by the lake after an invigorating walk is just the thing for an enjoyable outing with family and friends.