How you can help champion Crown land conservation

Some of the state’s Crown land areas are avail­able for short term camp­ing or moor­ing of house­boats — in pic­turesque loca­tions near the beach, in the bush or next to the Riv­er Murray. 

Icon­ic Crown land loca­tions include Wau­ral­tee Beach on the Yorke Penin­su­la, Hart Lagoon near Waik­erie and Cape Dou­glas in the southeast. 

What do I need to know?

Before you head off on your next out­door adven­ture on Crown land, here are some tips on how you can make the most of your trip while con­serv­ing the cul­ture, nature and her­itage of these unique areas. 

If you are plan­ning to camp, check the sig­nage first to make sure that it is legal to camp there. 

Always remem­ber to leave no trace behind – pack up all your belong­ings and waste when you depart, keep­ing the envi­ron­ment pris­tine for oth­ers to enjoy.

Being part of the Crown land com­mu­ni­ty means respect­ing the land and its estab­lished roads. If you’re using a reg­is­tered vehi­cle, stay on hard sand when dri­ving on beach­es and keep out of sand dunes to ensure the land remains both acces­si­ble and untouched.

If you’re plan­ning a vis­it to Wau­ral­tee Beach on the Yorke Penin­su­la, be mind­ful of its eco­log­i­cal and cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance. Please refrain from using the dunes as a toi­let or a play­ground as they serve as nest­ing grounds for pre­cious shore­birds and are cul­tur­al­ly sig­nif­i­cant to the Narung­ga people. 

What can’t I do at these sites?

When it comes to Crown land, the fol­low­ing activ­i­ties are not permitted: 

• Lit­ter­ing, dump­ing, or aban­don­ing property
• Dam­ag­ing or remov­ing vegetation
• Remov­ing or inter­fer­ing with Abo­rig­i­nal her­itage items
• Remov­ing or inter­fer­ing with fossils
• Clos­ing off or obstruct­ing roads.

Keep in mind that penal­ties apply for mis­us­ing Crown land, rang­ing from fines of up to $315 to penal­ties of up to $20,000 depend­ing on the sever­i­ty of the offense. 

For more infor­ma­tion vis­it South Australia’s Crown land.

And if you pre­fer to avoid the crowds, con­sid­er an alter­na­tive camp­ing option in one of our nation­al parks by search­ing on Find A Park.

Want to know how you can keep South Australia’s nation­al parks untouched? Read How to ​‘leave no trace’ on your next vis­it to a nation­al park, or Learn how to reduce plas­tic food waste on your next hik­ing or camp­ing trip