How you can help protect our precious beaches

South Australia’s nation­al parks are more than just pret­ty sights. They’re home to incred­i­ble wildlife and veg­e­ta­tion and include areas that hold deep cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance to First Nations peoples.

While you’re explor­ing South Aus­trali­a’s breath­tak­ing beach­es this sum­mer, here’s a friend­ly reminder of how you can help keep our coast­line pris­tine while you soak in the beau­ty of these nat­ur­al wonders.

Leave no trace

Pack some garbage bags and take your rub­bish back home as bins are not available.

Fur­ry friends

While we all love our canine com­pan­ions, most parks aren’t an ide­al hang­out for them. Leave your dog at home for their own safe­ty and to min­imise risk to native wildlife, veg­e­ta­tion and oth­er visitors. 

If you’re in one of the 17 parks where dogs are per­mit­ted, make sure to pop them on a leash (no longer than 2 metres long) and pick up their poo.

Please note assis­tance dogs are wel­come in nation­al parks and reserves.

Fire safe­ty

Many nation­al parks do not allow sol­id fuel fires (wood and char­coal) at any time, how­ev­er there are also many that do allow them at cer­tain times of the year. 

To find out which parks allow camp­fires, use the find a park tool and check the box for​‘Camp­fires (sea­son­al restric­tions apply)’ in the filters. 

You can also check out this full list of park fire restric­tions.

Bring your own firewood 

Bring your own fire­wood as col­lec­tion with­in parks is prohibited.

Make sure any fire­wood you do bring is free from dirt and weeds to avoid bring­ing pest species into parks. 

Stay on track

Our beach­es are very sen­si­tive envi­ron­ments, so whether dri­ving or walk­ing be sure to keep to estab­lished roads and tracks. This also keeps your­self and oth­er park­go­ers safe from harm. 

Slow down

Most of our nation­al parks have speed lim­its of 40 kilo­me­tres per hour. Stick­ing to these lim­its pro­tects you and our wildlife, allow­ing plen­ty of time for you to react to any unex­pect­ed event, like the sud­den appear­ance of a fur­ry or feath­ered creature.

For more infor­ma­tion about South Australia’s parks and reserves, and to book, vis­it the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice web­site.

The handy find a park tool allows you to fil­ter by activ­i­ties, facil­i­ties and more – such as camp­ing, dog walk­ing, 4WD access and more – to help you find the per­fect park for your next adventure. 

Keep in mind that there are penal­ties for doing the wrong in our parks, so it’s best to stick to the guidelines.

Let us help you plan your next beach adven­ture with 5 fun things to do at Adelaide’s beach­es while you dis­cov­er South Australia’s best beach­es this sum­mer!