McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast Visitors Centre, Cafe and Play Space.
Don’t be fooled by the name… McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre is so much more than a place for tourists. With its cute kitchen garden café, art gallery, awesome nature playground and yummy gin tasting, this is one spot that you need to visit!
Review By Jo Parkinson
Situated on Main Road, the Visitor Centre is one of the first buildings seen on the outskirts of beautiful McLaren Vale. Whether you are a tourist, a local, or just enjoying a day out, the Visitor Centre showcases everything the Fleurieu has on offer. There will be something to please everyone!
Stumphill Café
What better way to enjoy a nice lunch than under the shade of leafy vines? Stumphill Café is the perfect place for a catch up with friends and somewhere that the kids can enjoy too. Serving delicious light meals, the menu includes items such as frittatas, house made pies, pastries, soup and salads. The kids menu has a choice of nuggets and chips or fish and chips, and everything is reasonably priced. There is also a selection of sweet treats like cakes, cookies, and ice blocks to choose from. Gluten free and vegetarian options are available.
The café has a great range of beverages, with juice, soft drink, beer and wine if you are after something cold. Tea, coffee, and babycinos can be made with milk of your choice. Our favourite would have to be the milkshakes! The other thing we love about dining here is that you can watch the kids play on the playground while you are waiting for the food, so no complaining or boredom here!
Stumphill Café is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm weekends and public holidays.
Stump Hill Gallery and Shop
Once you have finished your food, take a stroll through the Stump Hill Gallery, where you will find lots of wonderful creations by local artists. If you see something you like, the art is available for purchase. When we visited, the art exhibition was mainly metal sculptures which would look great in a garden.
There is also so much to browse through in the shop area too, with many local products proudly on offer. With beauty products, giftware, souvenirs and local produce, it makes it hard to walk away empty handed! If you are visiting the area, plenty of brochures are provided and helpful staff will answer any questions you may have.
Gin Tasting and Events
Ginny Pig’s cellar door is located within the centre, and you can enjoy a taste of their award-winning gin here Monday – Friday 11am to 3pm and 10am to 4pm on weekends. If you would like to host an event at the Visitors Centre, there are several spaces available to suit your needs.
Nature Play Area and Playground
Having young children, the thing we love most about the Visitor Centre is the gorgeous area the kids can play in while we sit back and enjoy a coffee! There is a slide, climbing area, rock climbing frame, seesaw and swing. Next to this is a water pump (always a hit!) and sandpit. There is a huge, grassed area too. Great for the kids to play chasey, practice cartwheels or bring a ball and have a kick. Even though it’s not fully fenced, the area is quite private, so it is safe. Weekends are usually a busier time, so if you prefer things quieter try visiting on a weekday.
Facilities
The Visitor Centre has convenient facilities such as:
- Free wifi and hotspot
- Public toilets
- Bike repair station and access to the Shiraz Trail
- Accommodation and tour booking
McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Visitor Centre is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm weekends and public holidays. Make sure you stop by next time you are going past; you will love it!
Location:
796 Main Road, McLaren Vale
For more information and all enquiries please visit the McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast Visitor website.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently.
Image Source: Jo Parkinson (January 2023)
SUBSCRIBE
Want to get all the latest events and activities straight to your inbox?
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter below to keep up to date with our latest posts and find out all the best events & activities for Adelaide families. Newsletters are only sent once a week, and you may sometimes get a special offer exclusively for our subscribers only!
