Deep Creek National Park

Deep Creek National Park (until 2021: Deep Creek Conservation Park) is a coastal South Australian national park on the edge of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 50 km west of Victor Harbor. The park contains many bushwalking trails with most centred around Boat Harbor and Blowhole Beach.

Understand

Visitor information

• SA Parks website
• 1 Deep Creek Park Headquarters. (updated Sep 2022)

Get in

Use Range Road from Victor Harbor.

Fees and permits

All vehicles entering Deep Creek National Park will need to pay a fee which can be paid on the park website. As of August 2022, the fees are:

• $12.50 per vehicle (6AM–11PM)
• $10 for concession holders per vehicle (6AM–11PM)

If you are camping, the entrance fees are included in your camping fee – you don't need to pay twice.

Do

Bushwalking

Easy bushwalks

• Stringybark Loop Walk: An easy 20-minute nature trail through stringybark and yacca-bush forest. Information boards are located at intervals along the way.
• Forest Circuit Walk: An easy walk through the forest near Stringybark Campground.
• Spring Wildflower Walk: A walk that follows fire trails from Stringybark Campground.

Moderate bushwalks

• Deep Creek Waterfall from Tent Rock Road: Descends steeply to the Deep Creek Waterfall. The walk is not long and the track is well maintained with steps in steeper sections. The return walk is mostly uphill.
• Deep Creek Cove from Trig Camping Area: Descends moderately to Deep Creek Cove. The return walk is a long moderate ascent.
• Aaron Creek Circuit Hike: A circuit hike that crosses the open areas at the higher sections of the conservation park before descending toward Eagle Waterhole Campground. Plenty of Western grey kangaroos can be seen on this hike.

Hard hikes

• Deep Creek Cove from Tapanappa Lookout: A spectacular and challenging hike that involves some steep hills and scrambling in some places. Hiking boots are required as there are steep and slippery sections in close proximity to cliff edges.
• Blowhole Beach Hike: Descends to Blowhole Beach from Cobbler Hill. Can be incredibly windy. The track is not especially rough but the ascent on the return hike is long and steep.
• Deep Creek Waterfall from Tapanappa Lookout: Another hike that has some long and steep undulations. This walk goes right into the dense Deep Creek vegetation and is not a leisurely stroll.
• Aaron Creek Hike: Follows the creek to the coast, with many creek crossings involved.

The Heysen Trail

• The 1,200-kilometre (750 mi) Heysen Trail enters the national park near Blowhole Beach, not far from its starting point at Cape Jervis. It traverses the conservation park via Eagle Waterhole, Trig Campground, and Deep Creek Waterfall, and exits at Boat Harbor Beach before continuing to Tunkalilla Beach. It is well marked with the red and white Heysen Trail track markers.

Eat

There are no restaurants or cafes in the park.

Sleep

Camping

There are four campgrounds in Deep Creek National Park.

• 1 Cobbler Hill Campground, Blowhole Beach Rd. A small unpowered campground with six marked campsites. The campground is both 2WD and 4WD accessible. It's near the very end of Blowhole Beach Road meaning the short bushwalk towards Blowhole Beach is just a doorstep away. From $24 per night. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Stringybark Campground. From $34.50 per night. (updated Sep 2022)
• 3 Tapanappa Campground, Heysen Trail. From $24 per night. (updated Sep 2022)
• 4 Trig Campground, Tent Rock Rd. From $24 per night. (updated Sep 2022)

Go next

• The closest reasonably-sized city from the national park is Victor Harbor
• Otherwise, use Main S Road (B23) back up to the state capital
• The ferry to Kangaroo Island from Cape Jervis is not far from here