Take a walk in Mount Remarkable National Park: The Narrows Hike in Alligator Gorge

Take a walk in Mount Remarkable National Park: The Narrows Hike in Alligator Gorge



Explore a new walk­ing trail each month in one of South Australia’s nation­al parks. Here’s one to try next.


About 4 hours north-west of Ade­laide is the renowned Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park. Known for its pop­u­lar bush­walk­ing trails, there are some incred­i­ble views to be had – the 960 m‑high Mount Remark­able Sum­mit sits above the Willochra Plain and looks out to the Spencer Gulf.

The Nar­rows Hike is a pop­u­lar hike which takes you through the full length of Alli­ga­tor Gorge.

Start­ing at the Alli­ga­tor Gorge car park, the trail descends the steep steps down into Alli­ga­tor Gorge.

Take your time to head a few hun­dred meters right once you reach the bot­tom of the steps to view The Ter­races before head­ing back the way you came and con­tin­ue past the bot­tom of the steps to pass through the spec­tac­u­lar Nar­rows. You’ll know you’ve reached this sec­tion when the tow­er­ing ochre walls close in and are only few metres apart.

Make sure you’re wear­ing stur­dy shoes, as the gorge floor is uneven and can be slip­pery when wet. This loop trail will take you back to the Alli­ga­tor Gorge car park via the Blue Gum Flat pic­nic area.

This trail is a great chance to spot some wildlife in the park. Keep a look out for kan­ga­roos, emus and wedge tailed eagles fly­ing high above.

Top tip: Vehi­cle entry fees apply to vis­it Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park. Before you vis­it, go online to pur­chase a pass or vis­it one of our book­ing agents to pay in person.

Take a walk in Mount Remarkable National Park: The Narrows Hike in Alligator Gorge

Get­ting there

The park is locat­ed 45 km north of Port Pirie. Access is from Nation­al High­way One via Mam­bray Creek.

Alli­ga­tor Gorge can be reached via a pic­turesque – but some­times chal­leng­ing – dri­ve, com­menc­ing 1 km south of Wilm­ing­ton on Main North Road. This road is very steep and is unsuit­able for car­a­vans, camper trail­ers and buses.

You can also walk into the park from the adja­cent town of Mel­rose, which lies at the foot of Mount Remarkable.

Top tip: There are no pub­lic roads that pass through Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park. Hor­rocks Pass and Port Ger­mein Gorge are the near­est pub­lic roads to the park where you can pass over the Flinders Ranges in an east-west direction.

Before you go, down­load the park map from the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice web­site, or down­load it on the Aven­za Map App. This app uses your phone’s in-built GPS to place your loca­tion direct­ly onto the map. Read our sto­ry to learn how it works.

Stay in the park

There are a vari­ety of camp­sites avail­able at Baroo­ta and Mam­bray Creek campgrounds.

Mam­bray Creek Camp­ground is a well-estab­lished camp­ground with 53 camp­sites set among the riv­er red gums. The sites are lev­el and offer var­i­ous lev­els of shade and pro­tec­tion from the wind.

Top tip: This camp­ground con­tains hot show­ers and toi­lets, a must if you’re going camp­ing dur­ing the cold­er months!

As part of the South­ern Flinders Precinct project, Mam­bray Creek Camp­ground will soon under­go a vari­ety of upgrades, pro­vid­ing vis­i­tors with an even bet­ter experience. 

Baroo­ta Camp­ground is locat­ed near the west­ern entrance to the park and has 10 camp­sites that offer var­i­ous lev­els of shade and pro­tec­tion from the wind.

Top tip: To reserve your camp­site, book online up to 12 months in advance.

If camp­ing isn’t your thing, don’t fret, there are a few accom­mo­da­tion options avail­able. Alli­ga­tor Lodge has room for 10 peo­ple, while Mam­bray Creek Cab­in has room for 4.

Alli­ga­tor Lodge is a spa­cious three bed­room self-con­tained lodge set into the hill­side. It’s per­fect­ly locat­ed to explore the park’s numer­ous bush­walk­ing trails and a short dri­ve to the park’s scenic gorges.

The Mam­brary Creek Cab­in is sit­u­at­ed in the main camp­ground at Mam­bray Creek. The front veran­dah pro­vides an ide­al spot to relax and enjoy the sounds of nature.

Top tip: You’ll need to pro­vide all bed­ding, linen, pil­lows, tow­els, tea-tow­els and your esky. All cook­ing uten­sils, crock­ery, cut­lery are provided.

Take a walk in Mount Remarkable National Park: The Narrows Hike in Alligator Gorge

Keen to explore Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park a lit­tle fur­ther? Ranger Niamh Dou­glas has sent us her top tipsfor the park and a fewwaysto get the most out of your visit. 


This con­tent was pro­duced in part­ner­ship with  Good Living