Wild South Coast Way

Wild South Coast Way

on the Heysen Trail

Current alert

Microalgal blooms at Waitpinga and Parsons Beaches at Newland Head Conservation Park, South Australia, may cause discoloured water, foam and potential health risks. Details

Walk it your way

The Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail (WSCW) beckons to all those who long for a true adventure in nature. This 74 km walking trail between Cape Jervis and Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia showcases the rugged coastline, native wildlife, and the lush natural surroundings.

And the best part? This incred­i­ble adven­ture is less than two hours from Ade­laide, mak­ing it the per­fect escape from the hus­tle and bus­tle of city life. Whether you choose to take a short walk or chal­lenge your­self to the full five-day, four-night jour­ney, the WSCW allows you to choose your own adven­ture and explore this stun­ning part of South Aus­tralia at your own pace.

Each day of the walk deliv­ers a new expe­ri­ence and chal­lenge, start­ing with views across to Kan­ga­roo Island before the full nature expe­ri­ence begins, encour­ag­ing the walk­er to​‘tune in’ to nature and​‘tune out’ of stress.

The trail con­nects the parks along our breath­tak­ing south­ern coast­line from Cape Jervis to Vic­tor Har­bor includ­ing Deep Creek Nation­al Park, Bal­la­parud­da Creek Recre­ation Park and New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park. If doing a mul­ti-day walk, camp at one of the camp­grounds along the way: there are four walk-in only camp­grounds and four dri­ve-in camp­grounds on or near the trail. As part of the 1,200 km Hey­sen Trail, your adven­ture does­n’t have to end here!

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Choose your own adventure

See all walks and hikes

Plan your adventure

Accomodation

Camp­ing not quite your style?

South­ern Ocean Retreats offer a range of accom­mo­da­tion options so you can enjoy nature in com­fort. Whether you’re look­ing for a cosy fam­i­ly cot­tage or a seclud­ed retreat, there’s some­thing to suit every style and budget.

Book now

Oth­er types of accom­mo­da­tion, rang­ing from off-grid cab­ins to lux­u­ry retreats, are avail­able out­side of the park — vis­it the South Aus­tralia tourism web­site or the Fleurieu Penin­su­la web­site. Some accom­mo­da­tion providers offer shut­tle ser­vices to the Wild South Coast Way.

Walking on Ramind­jeri Ruwi

The Wild South Coast Way tra­vers­es Ramind­jeri Ruwi (land), with con­nec­tions to Kau­r­na Coun­try at Cape Jervis. Ramind­jeri are one of eigh­teen Lankiny­er­ar (tribes) of the Ngar­rind­jeri Nation, whose Coun­try spans the low­er Riv­er Mur­ray, Coorong and west­ern Fleurieu Peninsula.

The trail retraces the final foot­steps of an ancient ances­tor named Ngu­run­deri, who is said to have shaped the land­scapes, spir­i­tu­al iden­ti­ties and cul­tur­al tra­di­tions of the Ngar­rind­jeri palak (peo­ple).

In Ngurunderi’s foot­steps, the Ramind­jeri palak fol­lowed – car­ing for Coun­try accord­ing to the laws and cus­tom­ary rights and oblig­a­tions he gave to them.

SA National Parks Tours App

The SA National Parks Tours App shares cultural stories of the area, information about things to see and helpful hints for those walking along the Wild South Coast Way. Hear from Ramindjeri elders and park rangers, identify plants and animals along the trail, and take part in guided meditations. Download the app before you depart.

App store
Android

The Wild South Coast Way on the Hey­sen Trail has been sup­port­ed by the South Aus­tralian Gov­ern­ment through the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice and with project part­ners, Friends of the Hey­sen Trail, Yankalil­la Dis­trict Coun­cil and the City of Vic­tor Harbor.

Plan your visit