Hiking trails in the Garden Route

Coastal forest and cliff trails from Plettenberg Bay through Tsitsikamma: Robberg, the Storms River mouth walks and the booked Otter Trail.

The Garden Route listings here sit in two management systems. Robberg Nature Reserve, 8km south of Plettenberg Bay, is CapeNature: three circular peninsula walks, a cashless gate, and a published day-visit tariff. Tsitsikamma is the Garden Route National Park section run by SANParks — people searching Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve mean this same section: the short Mouth Trail to the suspension bridges, the 6km Waterfall Trail that follows the first stretch of the Otter, and the five-day Otter Trail itself, which must be booked through SANParks reservations. Garden of Eden is the park's 800m Knysna-forest boardwalk on the N2.

We do not invent SANParks conservation fees on these pages. Daily gate prices change by nationality and year; check the Garden Route National Park rates page before you drive to Storms River Mouth. Dogs are not permitted on the CapeNature or SANParks listings here.

Knysna-section listings use SANParks’ official distances: Garden of Eden 800m, Kranshoek 9km, Elephant Trail 18km, Harkerville Coastal Trail 26km. Confirm Harkerville’s coastal reroute on SANParks before you drive. Goukamma Nature Reserve is a separate CapeNature gate on the Buffalo Bay road between Sedgefield and Knysna — six official day trails, no pets.

10 listings are shown here, graded 2 easy, 1 moderate, 1 hard, with measured distances from 0.8km up to 42km.

Guides for this region

Near you

10 trails listed.

Name Area Distance Grade Fee Hours Dogs
Elephant Trail Knysna, Garden Route 18 km — See listing — No
Featherbed Nature Reserve Knysna, Garden Route 2.2 km — See listing — —
Garden of Eden Knysna, Garden Route 0.8 km easy See listing — No
Goukamma Nature Reserve Buffalo Bay, Garden Route — — R60 Gate 08:00–18:00. Office 07:30–16:00. No
Harkerville Coastal Trail Knysna, Garden Route 26 km — See listing — No
Kranshoek Trail Knysna, Garden Route 9 km — See listing — No
Otter Trail Tsitsikamma, Garden Route 42 km hard See listing — No
Robberg Nature Reserve Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route 9.2 km — R75 — No
Storms River Mouth Trail Tsitsikamma, Garden Route 2 km easy See listing — No
Tsitsikamma Waterfall Trail Tsitsikamma, Garden Route 6 km moderate See listing — No
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Elephant Trail

Knysna, Garden Route · 18 km

SANParks’ official 18km Knysna-section walk — a different listing from Harkerville (26km) and Kranshoek (9km).

  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Knysna, Garden Route · 2.2 km

Private Knysna reserve. Official Eco Experience: lagoon cruise, 4x4 transfer and a 2.2km guided nature walk. Departs from Cruise Café, 1 Remembrance Drive. Book with the operator — we do not publish a walk-in gate fee.
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Garden of Eden

Knysna, Garden Route · 0.8 km · easy

SANParks' 800m Knysna-forest boardwalk on the N2 between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay — picnic tables, not a mountain hike.

  • Picnic
  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Goukamma Nature Reserve

Buffalo Bay, Garden Route

CapeNature reserve and marine protected area between Sedgefield and Knysna. Official 2025 brochure: six day trails from 4.2km to 15km. Live page: day access R60 adult / R40 child. No pets. Gate 08:00–18:00.

  • Picnic
  • No dogs
  • Gate 08:00–18:00. Office 07:30–16:00.
Entry from R60
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Harkerville Coastal Trail

Knysna, Garden Route · 26 km

SANParks’ official 26km Knysna-section hike — not the 9km Kranshoek walk or the 800m Garden of Eden boardwalk. Confirm the coastal reroute before you go.

  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Kranshoek Trail

Knysna, Garden Route · 9 km

SANParks’ 9km Knysna-section walk from the Kranshoek picnic site — forest to coast, not the 800m Garden of Eden boardwalk.

  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Otter Trail

Tsitsikamma, Garden Route · 42 km · hard

SANParks' 42km, five-day booked hike from Storms River Mouth to Nature's Valley — not a walk-up day trail.

  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Robberg Nature Reserve

Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route · 9.2 km

CapeNature peninsula 8km south of Plettenberg Bay with three circular walks — 2.1km, 5.5km or 9.2km — and picnic decks at the viewpoints.

  • Picnic
  • No dogs
Entry from R75
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Storms River Mouth Trail

Tsitsikamma, Garden Route · 2 km · easy

The 2km, one-hour SANParks walk from Storms River Mouth Rest Camp to the Tsitsikamma suspension bridges.

  • No dogs
Forested cliffs meeting the sea near Knysna on the Garden Route
Garden Route region · representative photo, not this trail

Tsitsikamma Waterfall Trail

Tsitsikamma, Garden Route · 6 km · moderate

SANParks' 6km, three-hour return from Storms River Mouth along the first stretch of the Otter Trail to a coastal waterfall.

  • No dogs

Hiking trails in the Garden Route — common questions

Where are hiking trails in the Garden Route?
Hikeza lists 10 listings in Garden Route — 7 trails and 3 picnic spots. Compare distance, grade, fee and dogs in the table on this page, or sort Garden Route by nearest.
Which nature reserves are listed in Garden Route?
Featherbed Nature Reserve; Goukamma Nature Reserve; Robberg Nature Reserve. Filter this hub to Nature reserves to hide picnic lawns and signed contour paths that sit inside a park.
Which hiking trails in the Garden Route have published hours?
1 listings on this hub print hours from the official page, including Goukamma Nature Reserve. Set Hours to Published, or open Garden Route published hours. A dash in the Hours column means we have not found published hours — confirm before you go.

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