Local Attractions

Horseshoe Bay: A short 200 metre walk from Pinecroft is beautiful Horseshoe Bay. Here you can swim, have a picnic, or take a walk in the gardens and along the beach. You might want to go boogie-boarding or look for the seals swimming off the rocks at the caravan park end of the beach. Take some time to visit The Flying Fish Café for fish and chips, drinks and icecreams, or an excellent restaurant dinner.

The walk to Green Bay and Boomer Beach: This track starts about 100 metres from Pinecroft and follows the rugged headland to the southern end of Port Elliot. It provides many vantage points for beautiful views of the coast to Victor Harbor and beyond. Take some time to watch the waves crash over Christmas Rocks and into Rocky Bay. Walk on to idyllic Green Bay and then over the headland to Knights Beach and Boomer Beach. Be warned, Knights and Boomer are for experienced body boarders and surfers. 

The Strand and North Terrace: A two-minute walk takes you to the Stand and the eclectic mix of shops and eateries that make up the village centre. There are great bookshops, gourmet food stores, and fine craft and clothing outlets.  You can browse until your heart’s content and then visit one of the many cafés and restaurants for coffee, lunch or dinner. The Hotel Elliot is a favourite of both locals and tourists. On North Terrace, call into the famous Port Elliot Bakery, enjoy local produce at Jetty and have a coffee while you pick out your holiday reading at the South Seas Bookshop.

The Railway Station and the Cockle Train: Catch the famous Cockle Train at the historic railway station just off the Strand. You can travel either way – to Goolwa or Victor Harbor. It is 15-20 minutes in either direction. The one-hour round trip is a memorable outing for all ages. It is a journey back in time with great sight-seeing along the coast. At the railway station, visit the award winning Historical Interpretive Centre which depicts the town’s sea port and railway history. You may also want to embark from here on the self-guided walking tour of Port Elliot by following the marked trails around the township and using your map of historical buildings and landmarks. 

Port Elliot Markets: If you are staying on the first or third Saturday of each month, you can visit the Port Elliot Market at Lakala Reserve – just past the railway station. It is a typical country market with plenty of fresh local produce on offer as well as a good mix of other goods such as homemade jams, bric-a-brac, collectables, plants and books. There is also an excellent farmer’s market in Victor Harbor every Saturday morning. 

Encounter Bikeway: At the top of Murray Terrace you can join this iconic bikeway and ride west to Victor Harbor and Encounter Bay or east through Middleton to Goolwa. The track stretches for 30 kilometres and is suitable for cyclists, skaters, roller-bladers, walkers and people in wheelchairs.

Basham Beach and the walk to Middleton: From the caravan park at Horseshoe Bay, a network of pathways and tracks provide access to the Basham Beach Regional Park and the walking track to Middleton. The park has extensive interpretive signage, public toilet facilities, an indigenous food and medicine trail, herbarium, dreamtime murals and shelters. If you are around in the winter whale-watching season you can get breathtakingly close from viewing platforms, to the many Southern Right Whales that migrate annually with their calves from the Sub-Antarctic.