Cleland Cottage (formerly Mt Lofty Cottage YHA)

Accommodation Option on the Heysen Trail

Accommodation
Self contained unit/house
Mapsheet
Mapsheet 2B, Bridgewater Oval to Stone Hut Road
Guidebook
Southern Guidebook, chapter 3, map 4
Location
Gate 25, Summit Road, Crafers, in the Cleland National Park
Located within walking distance to Mount Lofty Summit and Cleland Wildlife Park.
Coordinates
Grid ref: 905 273
Longitude: 138.706223
Latitude: -34.974304
Download
Download GPX file for a GPS unit
Download KML file for Google Earth/Maps
Fees
$180/night (as at 8/10/2022)
Facilities
Cottage sleeps up to ten people in three bedrooms (two queens and three sets of bunks). The cottage is self-contained with crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, pots & pans supplied. Bring your own sheets, pillows, blankets and towels.
There are 2 water tanks but they behind a padlocked gate and are not accessible to the public.
History
Originally built as a two-roomed hut, probably to accommodation shepherds working for Arthur Hardy or Sir Samuel Davenport. Hardy and Davenport were two of the first large estate landowners on this side of Mount Lofty Summit. They used the land chiefly for pastoralism and logging but also some agriculture, including the growing of vines and olives. Hardy was the first 'colonial gentleman' to build a summer house on Mount Lofty - nearby Mount Lofty House in the 1850s.
Notes
Not really suitable for through walkers as the keys have to be collected from Belair National Park.

View full featured Interative Map of the Heysen Trail - showing additional information layers such as Re-routes, Guidebook map outlines, photos and Fire Ban Districts.

6 thoughts on “Cleland Cottage (formerly Mt Lofty Cottage YHA)

    • Hi William,
      Please note that bookings for this site are arranged through Parks SA. The Friends merely list camp sites etc as an aid to walkers, but we aren’t responsible for bookings.

  1. Hi, would this be available for the 27th April. We will be attending a wedding at Mount Lofty House. 2 adults and 2 children. Thank you

  2. The YHA is now owned by ForrestrySA, I think.
    You can book it for staying in, but you have to rent the whole hut (accommodates up to 10, apparently). It won’t be cheap.

    • The former Mt Lofty YHA is now managed by Parks SA and operating as Cleland Cottage. The listing on our Accommodation page has been updated to reflect this.

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