Parsons Beach was the last stop of our Yorke Peninsula leg, a few kilometres from the gate of Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park after a morning on the park’s cliffs and beaches. A gravel road, a sandy track, and then a long white beach with hardly anyone on it: we drove along it, put the awning out, cooked lunch on the tailgate, swam and showered off the back of the car.
What we like
- A long empty beach for the 4WD
- Turquoise water for a swim
- Free, outside the park
- Minutes from Marion Bay and Innes
- Walk the Yorke runs along it
What we don’t
- No toilets or bins
- Soft sand at the entrance
- Exposed when the wind is up
About Parsons BeachAbout
Parsons Beach is a long beach on the south coast of the foot of the peninsula, between Marion Bay and the national park boundary, which puts it outside the park and free of the park pass. The Parsons Beach Community Association looks after it, and their sign at the entrance asks for the usual courtesy: footprints on the beach only, never in the dunes, 25 km/h, no digging, stay off the plants and take your rubbish home. There are no toilets and no bins, so bring everything you need. The Walk the Yorke trail runs along the coast here too, with its yellow marker posts on the road in.
Quick facts
- AddressParsons Beach, Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula, SA, AustraliaSee on the trip map →
- Phone receptionPatchy
- FacilitiesBeach AccessFishingWalking TrailsParkingNo ToiletsNo BinsNo Drinking WaterNo Shade
- Good to know4WD only, tyres down25 km/h on the beachNo bins, take it all home
- FeesFreeNo park pass needed
- 8.4/10Overall rated
Getting There
From Marion Bay, head towards the national park and turn off onto Parsons Beach Road, a gravel road that runs south across the flats to the coast, with the yellow Walk the Yorke marker posts along it. At the end there’s a car park and the signs, and from there a sandy track drops onto the beach. We dropped our tyres at the car park; the sand on the track is soft and the beach firms up towards the water.
Our Own Stretch of BeachOn the beach
The beach runs for kilometres in both directions, white sand with low grassy dunes behind it and the water a band of turquoise. A few cars were parked far off, and we drove along the firm sand until we had our own stretch, then pulled up with the awning out to the sea. Lunch was on the camp table with the Dune stove on the tailgate, and after a swim we rinsed off with the shower from the back of the car before the drive on. Take it slowly: the 25 km/h limit is lower than the west coast beaches, and the dunes are off limits.
Things to Do NearbyThings to do
Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park is minutes away, with the Cape Spencer lighthouse walk, Dolphin Bay and the park campgrounds. Marion Bay has a water filling station, a pub and a caravan park, and Daly Head is the council bush camp up the west coast. The rest of the leg is in our Yorke Peninsula guide.
Summary
A free, empty white beach just outside Innes for a drive, a swim and lunch on the sand. Drop your tyres at the car park, keep it to 25 km/h on the sand, stay off the dunes and take everything you bring home with you.
Parsons Beach was our lunch stop after a morning in Innes, and the sort of beach you plan a day around: a gravel road, a sandy track, and then kilometres of white sand with a handful of cars far away.
Awning out, stove on the tailgate, a swim, a shower off the back of the car. No facilities at all, so bring everything and take it all home.
- 4WD tourers
- Families
- Anglers
Yes. Free, just outside the park, and an empty white beach to drive, swim and eat lunch on. Treat the dunes and the no-bins rule with respect.
Recommended Gear for Parsons Beach
A tyre deflator at the car park gets you onto the sand. Our Dune single burner stove cooked lunch on the tailgate, the Kings 270 Tourer awning was the shade, and a camp shower got the salt off before the drive.
