Guuranda | Yorke Peninsula Coastal Access Strategy 2026-2036
Looking after our coast, together
People care deeply about the coast – we all want to look after it and ensure people can continue to enjoy it for generations to come.
At its heart, the Coastal Access Strategy is about balancing access and protection, ensuring more people can experience Yorke Peninsula’s beautiful and biodiverse coast while safeguarding what makes it special.
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The Guuranda | Yorke Peninsula coastline is one of South Australia's most treasured natural assets. Stretching almost 700 kilometres, it is loved by locals and visitors alike for its stunning beaches, recreational opportunities, rich history, and unique natural environments.
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Because so many people care about the coast - experiencing and valuing it in different ways - we cast the net wide, seeking feedback about how to best enjoy and care for the coast from locals, community groups, businesses, and tourists to the area.
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Together, these voices shaped a collaborative strategy that reflects the region's needs, values and aspirations for the future. A large group of stakeholders worked together to form a collaborative strategy that we can all work on delivering together.
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The Guuranda | Yorke Peninsula Coastal Access Strategy 2026-2036 provides a shared vision for protecting and managing the coast while ensuring people can continue to enjoy it now and into the future.
Why is the Strategy needed?
The Strategy helps guide decisions that support:
- Sustainable coastal access
- Safe and enjoyable visitor experiences
- Long-term tourism and community benefit through healthy coastal ecosystems and wildlife
- Protection of much-loved coastal places
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The aim is simple.
Together we can ensure these special places remain healthy, accessible and resilient, and preserve the coast's unique character for everyone to enjoy.
What does the Strategy do?
The Coastal Access Strategy provides guidance for organisations responsible for managing coastal areas and identifies opportunities for collaborative action over the next 10 years.
It includes 17 strategies across seven key themes:
- Sustainable beach access
- Healthy coastal ecosystems
- Functioning coastal landforms
- Protected and respected Narungga cultural heritage
- Informed decision making
- Respectful visitors
- Supportive governance
A wide range of opportunities for action have been put forward under these key themes, including improving visitor infrastructure, strengthening education and awareness programs, supporting habitat restoration, improving compliance and enforcement, protecting culturally significant sites and using evidence to guide future management decisions.
A keen focus on sustainable access and shared stewardship
At its heart, the Coastal Access Strategy is about looking after Yorke Peninsula's coast so people can continue to enjoy it for generations to come.
Through collaboration, education, improved infrastructure and evidence-based management, the Strategy supports a balanced approach that benefits locals, visitors, Traditional Owners, tourism operators and the environment.
The Strategy provides a framework for practical, on-ground improvements such as better visitor facilities, clearer signage, enhanced education and awareness, stronger partnerships, and targeted protection of sensitive areas where needed.
By encouraging responsible coastal use and shared stewardship, the Strategy will help ensure Yorke Peninsula's beaches, dunes, wildlife habitats and culturally significant places remain healthy, accessible and enjoyable for locals and visitors now and into the future.
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Decisions about coastal access will be guided by local knowledge, community input and evidence-based monitoring to ensure the right solutions are applied in the right places.
Community feedback called for a balanced approach
This balanced approach to protect the natural and cultural values that make the region so special, while maintaining opportunities for communities and visitors to access and experience the coast, was overwhelmingly supported in the community feedback.
More than 2,100 people participated in public consultation on the draft Strategy, demonstrating the strong community interest in the future management of Yorke Peninsula's coastline.
Feedback highlighted strong support for:
- Protecting coastal habitats and wildlife
- Maintaining public access to beaches
- Better management of inappropriate behaviour
- Improved infrastructure such as toilets, bins and signage
- Stronger education and awareness programs
- Greater collaboration and community involvement in decision making
All feedback was carefully considered and forms what we can see in the final Strategy.
Working together for the future
Protecting and managing Yorke Peninsula's coast is a shared responsibility.
Developing a Strategy that everyone can get behind was a key priority and became a major collaborative effort. Thousands of community members, businesses and regular visitors contributed local knowledge and insights on coastal issues and opportunities through workshops and surveys during the project's early stages.
Stakeholders from across the region came together to help shape the process and develop a robust, collaborative approach that is now reflected in the final Strategy.
Driven by collaboration between the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board, Barunga West Council, Copper Coast Council, Yorke Peninsula Council, the Department for Environment and Water, Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Point Pearce Aboriginal Corporation, SA's Mid North and Yorke Tourism Zone, key stakeholders, and the broader community, the Strategy has been shaped by shared knowledge, expertise and feedback (see our engagement timeline below which shows how we got to this stage, where we are now, and what comes next).
Built on the knowledge, experience and aspirations of the community, the Strategy now provides the foundation for the development of implementation plans. This next step will continue to draw on local knowledge to identify the most effective solutions, ensuring that together we can protect what makes our beautiful and biodiverse coast unique.
Successful implementation of the Strategy will rely on governments, Traditional Owners, land managers, community groups, tourism operators, visitors and locals working together. Partner organisations have committed to ongoing collaboration to implement the Strategy, helping ensure the region's beaches, dunes, and ecosystems remain protected and accessible for generations to come.
Like-minded projects underway in region
Practical, proactive work is already improving access, protecting the coast and supporting communities across Yorke Peninsula.
From dune restoration and campground improvements to ranger programs and better infrastructure, projects across Yorke Peninsula are improving access while protecting the coast's environmental, cultural and community values.
These projects are the result of partnerships, planning and practical on-ground works. Together, these initiatives are improving access, enhancing visitor experiences and helping protect the environmental and cultural values that make the region's coastline so special.
Strong partnerships, practical actions and coordinated planning.
By the community, for the community
"With the recent explosive growth in 4WD ownership and websites showing beaches as free camping sites, the numbers of short and long term campers have skyrocketed. This Coastal Protection Strategy is a very important first step in protecting our beaches and coastlines from severe overuse causing irreversible damage."
- Greg Chase, President, Four Wheel Drive SA ◆︎