The Clare Valley With Kids: Trails, Kangaroos and Which Tours Take Children
The short answer. Yes, the Clare Valley works with children, as long as the day is not all tastings. Ride a flat leg of the Riesling Trail, look for kangaroos at Spring Gully in the evening, and see the fossil display in Burra. For a wine day, book the private tour so your family fills the car, or choose the 3-day tour, which sells child fares.
The worry for most parents is simple: a wine region sounds like a day of waiting in cellar doors. It does not have to be. The valley's best free sights are outdoors, the trail is flat, and a private guide will plan the day around your children as well as your glass. Here is how to make it work, and which of the Clare Valley guided tours fit a family.
Is the Clare Valley worth it with kids?
It is, if you split the time. Tastings are for adults, so plan a day where the wine is one part and the rest is riding, walking and wildlife. The towns sit 6 to 10 km apart along the trail, so short hops between stops are easy with children in the car.
What children will love
Riding the Riesling Trail
The trail is an old railway line, so it is flat, graded gravel with no traffic. Choose one short leg rather than the whole 33 km. Sevenhill to Clare is 6 km; Auburn to Watervale is 10 km and slightly downhill one way. Along the way in Clare, children can hunt for the trail's artworks: a steam-train silhouette, a flock of sheep and the Ness Street mural. The Riesling Trail, town by town has every leg.
Kangaroos and a waterfall at Spring Gully
Spring Gully Conservation Park, near Clare, is free to enter. Western grey kangaroos and euros graze there in the evenings, and up to 50 bird species live in the park. After rain, a seasonal waterfall drops 18 m. Pick the walk that suits your children's legs:
- Cascades Walk: 1.3 km return, about 40 minutes, to the falls.
- Ridgetop Walk: 1.2 km one way, about 40 minutes, wheelchair-suitable, from the Red Stringybark car park.
- Wymans Hike: a 2.6 km loop of about an hour, and steep, for older children.
A fossil in Burra
Burra, north of the valley, has a Diprotodon fossil display at Burra Railway Station, open 11am to 1pm daily. The Burra Heritage Passport, with a key and map from the visitor centre, opens the town's heritage sites.
What to prepare for
A little planning keeps the day easy:
| Plan for | What to do |
|---|---|
| Summer heat | January averages 30.5 °C at Clare; ride and walk in the morning. |
| Fire danger days | Parks close on Catastrophic Fire Danger days; check the rating the night before. |
| Dogs | Spring Gully allows no dogs, so leave them at your accommodation. |
| Toilets and water | The trail has toilets in Auburn, Watervale, Sevenhill and Clare, and water at its shelters. |
| Getting back | The trail is not a loop; plan a return ride or a taxi. |
Bike hire in Clare and Auburn includes e-bikes and tandems. Ask the hire shop what they have for children before you arrive. Clare Valley weather has each month's temperatures.
A day plan with children
Here is one way to fill a day that everyone enjoys, with the wine kept to one part of it:
- Morning on the trail. Hire bikes in Auburn and ride the gentle leg to Watervale while it is cool.
- Lunch in a village. Stop in Watervale or head on to Sevenhill, where the church and the underground cellar at Sevenhill Cellars are open to look round.
- A quiet afternoon. Call in at the Tourism Centre on Spring Gully Road for maps and ideas, or rest before the evening.
- Evening at Spring Gully. Walk the Cascades track and look for kangaroos as the light goes.
The Clare Valley Short Walks each take one to four hours, and several suit children: the Cascades Walk at Spring Gully, Clare to Sevenhill on the Riesling Trail, the climb to Neagles Rock Lookout, and Watervale to Mount Horrocks. The Tourism Centre can give you the maps. On a second day, swap the bikes for one of them, or drive north to Burra for the fossil. Keep one day for the grown-ups' wine, with the children along for the ride.
The best tour for a family
The private day for four is the one built for this. You pay $535 for your group of up to four, so a family of four fills the car and nobody else is waiting on you. Your guide collects you from your Clare Valley accommodation at 10:00, and you can shape the route, so ask for stops that work for everyone. It is not wheelchair accessible.
For older children and a bigger trip, the 3-day Flinders Ranges and Clare Valley tour sells discounted child fares, and infants can travel on a parent's lap. It stops in the Clare Valley on the way north and back, and spends the rest of its time in the Flinders Ranges, at Wilpena Pound and Brachina Gorge. The shared day tours publish no child policy, so ask before you book one.
Practical tips for parents
- Book one wine day, not three. Give the other days to the trail, the park and Burra.
- Go to Spring Gully late. The kangaroos come out in the evening.
- Start the trail in Auburn. Toilets, a car park and bike hire are all at the start.
- Stay central. Clare and Sevenhill put the trail, the park and the cellar doors within a short drive.
The Clare Valley Wine, Food and Tourism Centre on Spring Gully Road can help with the rest. Things to do in the Clare Valley lists every walk, and the Clare Valley map shows where they are.
What to combine it with
You can pair the valley with the Barossa, about an hour away, or with a stop in Burra on the way north. Read Clare Valley or Barossa Valley? to plan both.
Days that work with children
Group of Four Private Clare Valley Wine Tour with Lunch
Only your group of up to four, a route shaped around the wines you like, and the scheduled tastings and lunch in one group price.
From $535 per group, up to 4
Check Availability
All Inclusive 3 Day 4WD Flinders Ranges and Clare Valley Tour
Three days from Adelaide with two nights in Hawker, Wilpena Pound with an Adnyamathanha guide, and the Clare Valley on the way north and back.
From $643 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: choose a flat leg of the trail for the children, then book one wine day around them. Every fare sits side by side on Clare Valley Tours.