Kangaroo Island Walking Trails and Safety

On Kangaroo Island our National Parks and their walking trails are abundant with choices for everyone's taste.

Walks can be short, maybe only 10 or 15 minutes. Others can go around in a loop that might take a few hours. Which ever walks you choose, be prepared at all times, particularly in extremely hot or cold weather.

Walks around American River

The Fish Cannery Walking Trail 

Starts just down to the water from Failie Court.  Distance 3kms.  ice 1.5 hours.  Moderate difficulty.  Trail takes you to the ruins of a fish cannery built in the late 1890s.  Seaviews, birds in abundance, native shrubs and orchids in flowering season.

The Independence Trail

Distance 3.6kms or 7 kms return.  1.5 hours.  Easy walk along the lagoon foreshore to Remembrance Reserve with a loop and onto Independence Point.  Trail begins at the boat ramp and follows the coast along the edge of the Port of Pelicans.

Prospect Hill 

 .5 kms, 30 minutes, moderate walk up hill.  Visitors can climb this steep sand hill via 500 steps to the highest point on Kangaroo Island.  Views from the top include panoramic views of Pelican lagoon and Pennington Bay.  

MOBILE PHONE COVERAGE at the Western End of K.I. is poor. Please do NOT rely on always having a Mobile Phone signal available to make emergency phone calls, or to access online maps.

MAPS - When walking, ensure you carry with you PRINTED maps, showing a wide area, to help you keep your navigational bearings. Even though most of the popular walking tracks are well sign-posted by our National Parks service, it simply is not possible for them to put signs on every intersecting walking track.

WATER - When walking ensure you have plenty of water with you. On hot days, it is probably good to allow for the equivalent of 1 litre of water per hour per person. Dehydration is one of the most common and serious things that quickly affect visitors to Australia, not use to our hot, dry days. Be very cautious!

SIGN-IN - At locations that you find a National Parks Ranger station you are able to report your intended walk(s) to the rangers, and at the end of your walking day, return to report you have safely completed your walk. It is a simple system of checking-out and checking-in that have helped many people out of trouble over the years, because at times that something has gone wrong, the Rangers know which path to follow to find people who lose their way a bit. Simple. Don't be embarrassed. The Rangers much prefer to hear from you in advance. It's their passion to keep all of our visitors safe.

Regardless of all of this, carrying your water, maps, some food and good clothing and footwear, walks on Kangaroo Island are fantastic.

2024  Hikes and Walks

Baudin Conservation Park Hike Ironstone Hill

Beyeria Conservation Park  Beyeria Walk

Antechamber Bay

Lashmar Conservation Park

Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park  Murray Lagoon  

Timber Creek Walk and Bald Hill Walk.  Curley Creek Hike.

D'Estrees Bay Tadpole Cover Walk.

Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area Coastal Trek. (seasonal closure applies - contact parks.sa.gov.au for updates