Summertown: Wine, Walks and History

If you’re looking for a hotel in Summertown, you can plan your stay around three interests: historic places, a named walking route, and wineries and visitor experiences. For planning, it’s worth deciding in advance whether local history, Walk No. 1 or the wine connection will be your main focus.

Walk No. 1: Distance and walking time

Walk No. 1 runs from Ridge Road to Tregarthen Road. The route is 1.2 km long, with an estimated walking time of 60 to 90 minutes each way. The 2020 Heritage Walk booklet describes the route; walking conditions may change. When planning your time, treat the distance and walking time as separate details: the time applies to each one-way trip, not the round trip. If you plan to do the walk, check the track conditions in advance and plan around the stated direction and duration.

Cemetery and church: two historic landmarks

Summertown Cemetery opened in 1880; the graves of many district pioneers are located there. Summertown Uniting Church opened in June 1881, originally as Summertown Bible Christian Chapel or Mount Tabor Chapel. The dates are one year apart but refer to different places. The cemetery is associated with its opening and the pioneers’ graves, while the church also has a history of its original names. Together, they offer two different perspectives on local history: the memory of pioneers and the story of the church’s name.

Winegrowing and visitor experiences

Barratt Wines is one of the wineries in Summertown, in the picturesque Piccadilly Valley. Barratt Wines’ Uley Vineyard was planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1983. The planting year and the two grape varieties provide a specific point of interest for anyone curious about winegrowing.

Greenhill Wines is housed in a renovated settler’s cottage that is 130 years old and offers a wine-tasting room and restaurant. The difference is clear for travel planning: Barratt focuses on winegrowing and specifically named varieties, while Greenhill combines its settler’s cottage with a visitor experience. Restaurant operations and offerings may change; check current visitor options before you go.

Facilities and the drive along Greenhill Road

Tregarthen Reserve offers visitors a playground, public toilets and a picnic area. Council facilities may change due to maintenance or upgrades; check the current status before your visit. Taking these facilities into account gives you specific information about what the reserve offers visitors, rather than basing your plans solely on a general outdoor stay.

For a broader perspective, drive along Greenhill Road from Adelaide to Balhannah: the route passes through Summertown and connects walking trails, wineries, wildlife viewing, pubs and shops along the way. This gives you the option of a longer drive with a range of visitor experiences, alongside the places of interest within the town. For planning, it helps to distinguish between specific points of interest in Summertown and the wider route between Adelaide and Balhannah. First decide whether your stay will focus mainly on Summertown or on the drive; you can then use that to guide your hotel search.

Discover more destinations: Stepney, Magill, Somerton Park, Leigh Creek, Point Sturt, Krondorf, Langhorne Creek, Lenswood.

For the broader travel overview: South Australia.