walking trail through the forest

THE PARK

Located on the corner of Main Road and Turners Avenue, Hawthorndene, S.A. Blackwood Forest Recreation Park has three main precincts:

  • the pine forest (from which the park gets its name) taking up 8 hectares of the 21 hectare area and dominating the higher ground to the east
  • the open grassy hillside (the site of the old Blackwood Experimental Orchard), and
  • the Minno Creek riparian zone which is where most of the revegetation is occuring.

A second man-made, stone-lined channel, roughly following the old East-West creekline, runs westward from the eastern boundary and joins Minno Creek near the entrance of the park (see photograph on History Page).

community member walking his dogs

As the land was previously cleared for grazing, haymaking and eventually fruit tree cultivation, there is not a lot of native vegetation remaining. However, the remnant exotic plantings (oak, pear and pine etc - see Flora Page) and more recent plantings of local species, provide a pleasant and tranquil environment for many activities that are possible in the park. There are well-defined tracks throughout the park which are used for walking, jogging, horse riding, bike riding (not motorbikes) and dog exercising.

Blackwood Forest Recreation Park is one of the few Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) parks where dogs are allowed off the lead, as long as they are under effective control.

Access to the park is either via the main entrance carpark off Turners Avenue or there are several pedestrian entrances located around the boundary fenceline. There are no toilet facilities in this park.