8 of South Australia’s best sunsets in national parks

There’s some­thing very mag­i­cal about watch­ing a sun­set. It’s a great way to end the day and mar­vel at the beau­ty of nature at the same time.

South Australia’s beach­es are syn­ony­mous with wide-open spaces, white sand and cool blue oceans – the per­fect back­drop to watch the sun go down. But they’re not the only places you can enjoy sunsets.

There are lots of oth­er mag­nif­i­cent loca­tions, here are our top picks for the best spots to pull up a pew and take it all in.

1. Sten­house Bay, Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park

Not too far into Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park you’ll find Sten­house Bay – a pic­turesque cove with a long jet­ty that seems to go for eternity.

For an all-encom­pass­ing view of the bay, take the 2 km Sten­house Bay Look­out Walk. There are 9 look­outs so if you can’t get quite the right pho­to at one, there will be plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties at others.

2. The Sug­ar­loaf, Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park

Only a 20-minute dri­ve from Ade­laide, Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park is home to a heap of amaz­ing geo­log­i­cal fea­tures includ­ing the Sug­ar­loaf, which sets the scene for a tru­ly mag­nif­i­cent sunset.

3. Bool Lagoon Game Reserve and Hacks Lagoon Con­ser­va­tion Park

Any spot in Bool Lagoon Game Reserve and Hacks Lagoon Con­ser­va­tion Park in the state’s south-east will pro­vide great sun­set views. Our sources say the best seats in the house are either from the carpark and view­ing plat­form locat­ed at the entrance to the park, or at Gun­nawar Board­walk, Pat Om Board­walk or Big Hill to the left of the entrance.

4. Cape du Couedic, Flinders Chase Nation­al Park

You know you’re up for great views when you’re near a light­house. Cape du Couedic is a head­land locat­ed on the south-west tip of Kan­ga­roo Island in Flinders Chase Nation­al Park.

It’s a great place to stand back and admire the sil­hou­ette of the light­house against the rich colours of the sky, and enjoy the seren­i­ty after busy bus­loads of vis­i­tors have vis­it­ed through­out the day. Dusk and evening is peak hour for wildlife on the roads around here, so dri­ve slow­ly to keep them safe. 

5. Malkum­ba-Coongie Lakes Nation­al Park

The best time to vis­it Malkum­ba-Coongie Lakes Nation­al Park in the state’s far north-east is in late autumn. Vis­i­tors in April and May can expect colour­ful sun­sets, no wind and high, sparse clouds that pro­vide the recipe for the per­fect sunset.

The good news is, the land­scape here is most­ly flat, so you won’t need to head up any hills to get the best view.

Road con­di­tions are vari­able in this area, so it’s best to touch base with the local rangers and check the Desert Parks Bul­letin for updates. 

6. Mount Lofty Summit

For panoram­ic views across the city sky­line all the way to the coast, head to Adelaide’s high­est peak. Mount Lofty Sum­mit is the per­fect place to watch the sun go down, and it’s only 16 km from the CBD. Perch your­self on one of the bench­es and drink in the dra­mat­ic views from 710 m above sea level.

7. Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park

You’d be for­giv­en if you looked at this pic­ture and thought you were about to enter the pearly gates of heav­en. Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park is not far off. It’s one of SA’s most pop­u­lar tourist des­ti­na­tions and home to Abo­rig­i­nal art rock sites, geo­log­i­cal his­to­ry, impres­sive fos­sils and well-pre­served cul­tur­al her­itage. Oh and it’s also a great place to see killer sun­sets too.

8. Deep Creek Nation­al Park

There are very few places in SA where you can stroll a few hun­dred metres from your camp­site to take in unin­ter­rupt­ed views of the sun set­ting over the ocean.

Deep Creek Nation­al Park on SA’s Fleurieu Penin­su­la isn’t short of spec­tac­u­lar sun­sets. The best view­ing spots are Blow­hole Beach, Cob­bler Hill Pic­nic Ground, Tapanap­pa Ridge and Look­out, and Goon­daloo Ridge. Just expect the odd pho­to bomb from some very pho­to­genic kan­ga­roos from time to time.

Got a favourite sun­set spot in South Aus­tralia? Tell us in the com­ments below.

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in Feb­ru­ary 2017.