Goolwa Beach

Goolwa Beach is a long sandy ocean beach at the locality of Goolwa Beach in the Alexandrina Council area on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, about 85 kilometres south of Adelaide. Situated adjacent to the Murray Mouth where the Murray River meets the Southern Ocean, it forms the western end of the Coorong. The beach is known for its wide dunes, surf conditions, fishing, four-wheel driving and views across to Hindmarsh Island and the Coorong National Park.

Visitors can expect a wide, exposed sandy beach backed by dunes stretching for several kilometres along the Southern Ocean. The beach faces south with consistent surf, views to the Murray Mouth, Hindmarsh Island and the Sir Richard Peninsula. Facilities are concentrated at the Beach Road car park with beach access tracks. The area is popular for beach walking, fishing, surfing, photography and four-wheel driving on the sand, with open, windy conditions and natural coastal scenery rather than built resort development.

Goolwa developed in the 1850s as Australia's first inland river port at the mouth of the Murray River, linking river trade to the sea via Port Elliot and later Victor Harbor. Goolwa Beach lies adjacent to the Murray Mouth, the historic outlet of the Murray-Darling river system that was central to paddle-steamer trade and early settlement of the region.

The area lies on Ngarrindjeri Country. The Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes are of long-standing cultural significance to the Ngarrindjeri people as traditional lands and waters. The beach and estuary remain important for cultural connection, fishing and community use.