Melbourne Street Christmas Gnome Trail | Review

Mischievous bearded creatures have taken over the windows of shops, cafes and businesses along Melbourne Street in North Adelaide.

Review by Claire Davill

A fun, free activity for kids, the gnome trail is open until 4 January 2026, and if you find them all, you can enter online to win your own handmade Christmas gnome and $100 to spend at participating businesses on Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.

We recommend starting your hunt at the post office, 1/168 Melbourne Street (just west of Jerningham Street), and walk east along the north side of Melbourne Street, crossing over at the Adelaide Chocolate School, and returning along the south side.

There are a LOT of gnomes to find, keep an eye out for the helpful stickers on the footpath. These stickers act as hints as to where you should start looking.

Some gnomes are very easy to find, some are more difficult. Make sure you look up, and towards the back of some businesses. All the gnomes are visible at all times, you don’t need to visit during business hours.

Many of the gnomes are themed to the business that they are located in, and many businesses have extra Christmas decorations in their windows as well.

There are several Christmas-themed decorations along Melbourne Street to spot while you are on your hunt. Keep an eye out for the giant baubles, Christmas tree planter boxes, and red and white flowers in the mannequin sculptures.

Things to Consider:

• Melbourne Street is a busy road. The footpaths are wide, but you will need to keep a close eye on little ones.
• Use the pedestrian crossing at Jerningham Street. There is no pedestrian crossing at the eastern end of the trail. Take care when crossing, or consider walking further east to the pedestrian crossing at Mann Street.
• The trail can be completed at any time of day or night.
• It can be easy to lose count of the number of gnomes you have spotted. Take a pen and paper with you (or use your notes app) to keep count, or consider taking a photo of every gnome you see. If you are hunting during business hours, you can pick up a postcard from participating businesses to help keep count.
• There is plenty of parking along Melbourne Street and Jerningham Street. Alternatively, multiple buses run along Melbourne and Jerningham Street from the CBD, including 202, 208, 273, and the City Connector Bus (98C).

Melbourne Street Gnome Trail, North Adelaide | 28 Nov 2025 – 4 Jan 2026

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. All photos are by Play & Go

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