Little Para

Before visiting, please check the conditions of access.

Walking/running/hiking

More than 3km of paths through native bushland and gentle rolling hills, including a 2km loop trail, provide an exciting addition to the local green spaces for nearby residents and the local community.

A lookout offers visitors a sweeping view across the reservoir towards the dam wall and down the valley.

Cycling

Little Para offers cyclists a great side-track for adventure, with more than three kilometres of both easy and intermediate skill level shared trails to explore. Families looking for a picturesque spot to cycle together will also enjoy the trails and opportunities to stop and discover the local birds and wildlife.

Picnicking

Little Para Reservoir Reserve provides trail seating and picnic areas, all perfect for enjoying a bite to eat. Or find a quiet grassy spot with views of the water to lay out your blanket for lunch.

Getting there

The entrance to Little Para Reservoir Reserve is located at the end of Para Valley Road Greenwith, next to the Tea Tree Gully motocross track. This can be accessed by walking or riding through the adjacent Greenwith Little Para Reserve park,using one of the several entry points.

Little Para Reservoir Reserve has been designed for the local community to access on foot or by cycling, rather than by a vehicle. Limited parking is available.

Dogs are not welcome at reservoir reserves as they can carry harmful organisms that can easily contaminate the water and present a risk to the safety of the drinking water. Dogs also pose a threat to local native birds and wildlife. Assistance animals are accepted.

A print-friendly version of this map can be downloaded here.

Maps on your mobile

If you have a smart­phone or tablet you can down­load the free Aven­za Map app and have inter­ac­tive reservoir reserve maps on hand when you need them.

The app uses your device’s built-in GPS to plot your real-time loca­tion with­in the reserve onto a map. The app can be used with­out a net­work con­nec­tion and with­out roam­ing charges. You can also mea­sure area and dis­tance, plot pho­tos and drop place­mark pins.

How to get it work­ing on your device:

1. Down­load the Aven­za Maps app from the app store (iOS/Android) whilst you are still in range (its free!).
2. Open up the app and click the shop­ping cart icon.
3. Click ​‘Find’ and type the name of the reservoir reserve you are look­ing for.
4. Click on the map you are after and install it (all our maps are free).
5. You will now find a list of your installed maps on the home page of the Aven­za Maps app.
6. Use our maps through the Aven­za Mapa app while in the reserve and nev­er take a wrong turn again.

Capacity: 20.8 gigalitres (that’s almost 21 billion litres) - enough to fill more than 10,400 Olympic swimming pools.

Built: 1979

Little Para Reservoir collects and holds water which is then filtered and treated at the Little Para Water Treatment Plant before being supplied to customers north of Adelaide, including Hillbank, Para Hills and Burton.

The surrounding catchment area is relatively small, so the water supply from Little Para Reservoir is often supplemented by water from the Murray River via the Mannum to Adelaide water pipeline.

You can check current reservoir levels at SA Water's website.

Little Para Reservoir is one of 16 across the state that help supply water to more than 1.7 million South Australians.

Water from Little Para flows is treated by SA Water at the Little Para Water Treatment Plant onsite before being supplied to customers north of Adelaide, including in Hillbank, Para Hills and Burton.

Treating drinking water before it’s supplied to homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and more, is important to make sure it is clean and safe to drink straight from the tap. You can learn how SA Water treats water and maintains the quality its customers value and rely upon.