There’s a satisfying kind of travel logic in leaving a city by bike and arriving, two days later, surrounded by vines. Australian Cycle Tours has launched a new three-day self-guided route that does exactly that, linking Adelaide to the vineyards of McLaren Vale via river trails, beachfront paths and one of South Australia’s better-known rail trails.
McLaren Vale sits just 45 minutes from Adelaide by car, but reaching it under your own power changes the experience entirely. The new McLaren Vale Cycle threads through riverside parkland, coastal paths and quiet backroads, turning a well-worn wine region into a slower, self-propelled journey.
From the city to the coast
The tour begins in central Adelaide, following the River Torrens Linear Park Trail out toward the coast before picking up beachfront paths and joining the Coast to Vines Rail Trail into McLaren Vale. It’s a route that shows off Adelaide’s more overlooked assets: its river corridor and coastline, both easily missed by anyone arriving straight into wine country by car.
Riders spend two nights in McLaren Vale township, giving the region room to breathe rather than treating it as a single-day stopover.
Set your own pace through wine country
The second day is built for flexibility, with a cycling distance of between 30 and 60 kilometres depending on how far riders want to push. Those keen to add more distance can take in the Shiraz Trail, while a wine tasting experience is included for anyone happy to let the cellar door set the day’s pace instead.
It’s the kind of built-in choice that suits both cyclists chasing kilometres and those more interested in exploring McLaren Vale’s food and wine scene at a walking pace, on two wheels.
Back to Adelaide via the hills
The final day covers 40 kilometres of quiet country backroads through Clarendon toward the Adelaide Hills and Belair National Park, before a transfer returns riders to Adelaide’s CBD. It’s a fitting way to close the loop, trading vineyard flatlands for hill country before the return to the city.
The three-day McLaren Vale Cycle is priced from $1,650 per person and includes two nights of boutique accommodation in McLaren Vale, electric mountain bike hire with helmet, lock and repair kit, luggage transfers, a wine tasting experience, route notes, maps and GPS information, and the final transfer from Belair National Park back to Adelaide CBD.
For travellers who want their wine region earned rather than simply arrived at, this is a route that turns a short drive into a proper adventure, at whatever pace suits.
