Things to do with kids in Clare Valley

The old railway line from Auburn north through Clare to Barinia is now a walking and cycling path of more than 30km. Its gentle gradient and formed surface suit young riders and prams, and drinking fountains stand at Auburn, Watervale and Clare. Summer days can get very hot, so ride early and carry water.

Edmund Bowman built this Georgian-style mansion in 1879, with 32 rooms and a seven-room cellar to explore on a self-guided tour. It opens 10am to 4pm daily in school holidays, and Wednesday to Monday in term. Entry was $15 for adults and $8 for children in October 2026.

A Heritage Passport key from Burra's visitor centre opens 11 locked heritage sites, including the old Monster Mine and its engine house. You can drive across most of the mine site, and children 15 and under go free. Allow at least four hours to see a good share of the sites.

About 600 dugouts were carved into Burra Creek's banks between 1846 and 1851, when housing ran short. A flood in 1851 drove people out, and three dugouts survive in a side creek. Reaching them means a gravel slope with no handrail, so it's no place for a pram.

Built in 1856, this was South Australia's first gaol outside Adelaide, and it later became a girls' reformatory. The 1979 film Breaker Morant was shot here. It's about a 100m level walk from the car park, and it's one of the sites the Burra Heritage Passport key opens.

The old mine office and workshop now hold mining relics, ore samples, models of the Monster Mine and three early fire engines. The blacksmith's shop still works, with a Cornish-style forge and its original elephant-hide bellows. It opens 11am to 2pm every day, and children under 16 get in free.

Creek erosion here has exposed fossils of giant wombats, marsupial lions and giant kangaroos. The 5km Landscapes of Change loop takes about two hours, with signs about the animals that lived here. The park is 15km east of Burra on an unsealed road that can become impassable after rain, and there's no drinking water.

Built in 1850, this was Clare's first courthouse and police station, and four rooms now hold old costumes, furniture and photographs. Look for a collapsible paratrooper's bicycle from World War II, and the horse-drawn vehicles out in the grounds. It opens Sundays and public holidays, 10am to 3pm.