Telford Scrub Conservation Park
| Location | Telford Scrub Conservation Park, 15 km north of Mount Gambier |
| Start/End Point | Telford Scrub Car Park, Grundys Lane |
| Distance | 1.2 km loop |
| Time | 1 hour |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Activity | Walking |
| Region | Limestone Coast |
| Accommodation | Camping, mid-range and premium options — See accommodation options |
| Key Feature | 100 m elevated boardwalk through forest canopy |
Walking Among the Treetops
In the heart of the Limestone Coast, fifteen kilometres north of Mount Gambier, Telford Scrub Conservation Park protects a pocket of native forest so rich and layered that simply walking beneath it would not do it justice. So the park built a boardwalk into the canopy itself. The Forest Canopy Walking Trail is an easy 1.2-kilometre loop that includes a 100-metre elevated boardwalk rising over four metres above the forest floor, placing walkers at eye level with the branches where birds feed, nest, and call — transforming a gentle stroll into an immersive encounter with the upper storey of a southern Australian forest.
The park takes its name from the Telford family who once owned this land, and was proclaimed as a conservation park in March 1987. What it protects is increasingly rare — remnant native forest in a region that has been extensively cleared for agriculture and plantation forestry. The swamp gum woodland, brown stringybark open forest, and tea-tree understorey within these boundaries represent habitat types that once covered vast areas of the Limestone Coast but now survive only in fragments like this one.
The Walk
The Boardwalk Experience
The centrepiece of the trail is the elevated boardwalk that crosses a gully and rises into the tree canopy, placing you amongst the branches at a height where the forest reveals a completely different character. From ground level, a forest is trunks and leaf litter. From the boardwalk, it becomes a living architecture of branches, lichens, and bird activity. Honeyeaters dart between blossoms, treecreepers spiral up bark, and if you are quiet and patient, you may spot one of the koalas reintroduced to the park from Kangaroo Island in 1997.
The Forest Floor
Beyond the boardwalk, the trail meanders through swamp gum woodland with an understorey of austral bracken fern and several species of tea-tree before crossing vegetated sand ridges through brown stringybark open forest. Interpretive signs along the route highlight the park’s remarkable botanical diversity — over twenty species of native orchids have been recorded here, including pink fingers, common donkey orchid, tiger orchid, and purple cockatoo. In spring, the forest floor becomes a gallery of delicate blooms that reward those who walk slowly and look carefully.
Wildlife
The park supports several significant mammal species. The vulnerable southern brown bandicoot and the endangered sugar glider both find refuge in this remnant habitat, alongside wallabies and the reintroduced koala population. Birdlife is abundant and vocal — the canopy boardwalk provides particularly good opportunities for observation, as you are positioned at the same height where many species spend their day feeding and communicating.
Planning Your Walk
Telford Scrub Conservation Park is accessed from the Riddoch Highway via Grundys Lane. The Forest Canopy Walking Trail shares its starting point with the longer Stringybark Forest Walking Trail — walkers wanting a more extended experience can combine both trails for a half-day outing. A small clearing among the vegetation provides picnic tables for those who wish to linger. The park is open daily but closes on days of catastrophic fire danger. Camping is not permitted within the park.
The Forest Canopy Walking Trail at Telford Scrub is a rare opportunity to step into the upper storey of a native forest — to see the branches, hear the birds at close range, and understand the vertical complexity of a woodland ecosystem that most of us only ever experience from below. It is a gentle walk with an elevated perspective, in every sense of the word.
Where to Stay
Planning an overnight trip? See our Kangaroo Island Accommodation Guide for the best places to stay near this trail.