Following mostly dirt roads and taking in some historic sites related to the Wendish pioneers, the 32 kilometre Peters Hill Trail from Riverton is a scenic and interesting ride.
On the whole, Peters Hill Trail is well marked and easy to follow.
On our ride, and on the map shown below, we did a short loop on the Duck Ponds Trail first, so that we could get some good views of the old Riverton Railway Station before heading out on the official Peters Hill Trail.
Riverton Railway Station
The railway line extending to Burra from Gawler arrived in Riverton in 1869. The Riverton Station buildings, with extensive refreshment rooms, were the finest outside Adelaide. However, after the closure of the line in the 1990s, the complex was sold and is now a private residence.
After our loop of the Gilbert River Duck Ponds, we joined the Peters Hill Trail and headed east of Riverton and on to Windy Hill Road.
Windy Hill Road
Somewhat bizarrely, despite the relatively mild wind forecast, Windy Hill Road lived up to its name with a strong easterly wind blasting us as we slowly climbed.
St Peter Lutheran Church
After eleven kilometres, we came to St Peter Lutheran Church, build in 1864 by Wendish immigrants and still maintained by their descendants today.
Who were the Wends?
Peters Hill is one of six sites on the South Australian Wendish Pioneer Trail.
The Wends are a Slavic people, bilingual in Wendish and German, living in what is now eastern Germany near the Polish Border.
Between 1848 and 1860, over 400 Wendish families migrated to South Australia.
A community of Wendish farmers settled at Peters Hill, where they initially maintained their own Wendish customs and language. Over the next two generations, they assimilated with the wider community of German settlers.
Pioneer Graveyard
After looking around the church and the site of the former school, we continued on to see the Pioneer Graveyard, where local settlers were buried between 1857 and 1933.
The graveyard was well maintained with most of the headstones in Wendish or German.
Marschall’s Hut
Soon we were climbing again to our lunch stop at Marschall’s Hut.
Marschall’s Hut is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Peters Hill Trail.
After arriving in South Australia in 1854, Wendish settlers Christian and Elise Marschall made their home in this place with their eight children.
Built on the site of the original homestead with stones from its ruins, Marschall’s Hut is now used for accommodation on the Heysen Walking Trail.
With shelter, a pleasant view of the Gilbert Valley and a drop-box toilet, it’s a convenient place for a lunch stop.
Return via the Mawson Trail
Feeling refreshed, we were ready to complete our Peters Hill Trail loop back to Riverton.
There were a few more hills to climb
before we joined the Mawson Trail for the final roll into town.
Some of us enjoyed a coffee and food at the Emporium Bakehouse before returning to Adelaide.
Map of Peters Hill Trail
Summary of Peters Hill Trail
- Length: 32 km loop
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate (some roads have sandy edges, total climb of 328 metres, gradients of 3 to 5 %)
- Suitable for: Mountain or hybrid bikes
- Surface: Mostly dirt, some bitumen.
- Signage: Clearly marked as Peters Hill Trail, although one sign was missing on the day we cycled. Advisable to download the map above.
- Best Times: In cooler weather as not much shade. Also, not suitable after recent rain as some of the roads become very muddy.
Another great ride from Riverton is the Mawson Trail to Auburn, returning via the Rattler Trail.
The Peters Hill Trail is part of the Mawson Trail network, a series of loop trails which branch off the main Mawson Trail.
