Drive: Mount Bold

Welcome to Drive, a new section where I review Adelaide's best spirited driving routes. This edition, the premiere of the series, will focus on Mount Bold, an often neglected spot of beauty nestled within the picturesque Coromandel Valley.

Picturesque. Photo by Tom Stuart

If you’ve been itching to get out and immerse yourself in picturesque scenery that is within in an hour from the CBD, Mount Bold Reservoir is a winner.

A 50 minute drive from the CBD through Blackwood, Coromandel Valley and Clarendon, the twisty, serpentine roads will make for an engaging and enjoyable drive whether you are a rev-head or not.

To begin with, find your way onto Fullarton Rd, and let it take you down Old Belair Rd through Main Rd in Blackwood towards Coromandel Valley on a journey of historic buildings and architecture, seemingly thrusting you back in time the further you venture towards the reservoir.

You’ll eventually turn left from Sugarloaf Rd towards Grants Gully Rd in Chandlers Hill, where the real fun starts.

After a short burst you’ll reach Clarendon. A hot tip is to stop off at the Clarendon Bakery for a pit stop, with well-crafted pies, sausage rolls and about every pastry you can imagine.

The chunky steak pie was a big winner in my eyes, complimented by an iced (or hot) coffee makes the perfect fuel to continue on with the journey.

Back on the road, the long sweepers towards Kangarilla Rd provide a breathtaking backdrop of dense greenery, overlooking the picturesque Dorset Vale and Clarendon.

Once you turn off Kangarilla Rd onto Mount Bold Rd, you really begin to feel as if you are in a new world.

Surrounded by farms and livestock, the road leading up to the reservoir feels like you’re hours away from city life, when in-fact it is less than 40 kilometers.

Follow the signs and road towards the reservoir and make sure to get ready to hold your jaw before it drops to the floor.

Upon seeing the reservoir, dam and stunning green scenery as far as the eye can see, it makes for a truly awe-inspiring experience.

If you can, try and get down on a sunny day, in the morning or late afternoon, as the sun hits the face of the damn and reflects off the water towards the suspension bridge and into the valley beyond, radiating a stunning gold light.

Once you’ve had enough of the views and relaxed aura the reservoir provides, if you’re feeling up to more of a drive head home via Echunga (perhaps another food stop), towards Hahndorf and the freeway.

All up, the driving portion of the trip will take 2-2.5 hours, not including food or break stops.

Mount Bold makes you feel as if you are in rural Australia, is a fantastic and engaging drive to get there, and is fun for the whole family.