Guide to Melrose South Australia Australia

Melrose is a town of about 340 people at the foot of Mount Remarkable, 265 kilometres north of Adelaide. Big river red gums line its creek, and the mountain fills the sky to the west.

It calls itself the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, and it is one of the prettiest. In the last 20 years it has also become the mountain biking centre of the state.

Known For

• Mount Remarkable and its summit hike
• Mountain bike trails
• The oldest town in the Flinders Ranges

Things To Do in Melrose

Mount Remarkable Summit

A well-graded trail climbs from the edge of town through blue gum forest and across scree slopes to the 960 metre summit, 13 kilometres return. Allow four to five hours. The best views are on the way up, not at the top.

Mountain Biking

More than 100 kilometres of trails start in the town, from gentle creek-side loops to the 39 kilometre Remarkable Epic. A rail trail runs 22 kilometres north to Wilmington. Bikes can be hired, and the Fat Tyre Festival is held on the June long weekend.

Heritage Walk

The police station and courthouse of 1862 are now a museum, and the walk passes an 1865 blacksmith’s shop and the ruins of a brewery that ran from 1877 to 1934. The name lives on in a modern brewery and taphouse in the town.

Hotels

The North Star Hotel, licensed in 1854, and the Mount Remarkable Hotel both still trade.

Where To Stay

Both hotels have rooms, and there are cottages and cabins.

The Melrose Caravan and Tourist Park, on Joes Road beside the creek, has powered and unpowered sites and cabins. The Melrose Showgrounds, on the highway, has powered and unpowered sites, toilets, water and a dump point, paid to the caretaker.

Eat & Drink

Both hotels serve meals, and there are cafes, a general store and the brewery taphouse on weekends.

History

Melrose is on Nukunu country. Edward John Eyre passed the mountain in 1840, a copper mine opened in 1846 and a police station in 1848, for years the base of a police district that stretched to the northern coast of the continent.

Getting to Melrose

Melrose is on the sealed Horrocks Highway, 24 kilometres south of Wilmington and about 65 kilometres from Port Augusta.