Gym Beach

More information about Gym Beach.

Gym Beach sits right on the boundary of Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, which makes it a bit of an unusual spot. The campground falls within the national park, while the beach to the north and east sits outside the park boundary. This means there are no entry fees to visit the beach itself, making it one of the more accessible stops along this stretch of coastline.

The carpark gives you easy access to a slight headland on the coast, with the sand of Gym Beach spanning out to the left and right. It is a relaxed, relatively sheltered beach without the heavy surf found further south in the park, making it a comfortable spot for a swim or a walk.

Can you drive on Gym Beach?No, you can't drive on gym beach.

Can you camp at Gym Beach? Yes. The Gym Beach Campground is the most secluded of all campgrounds in the area, with six sites suitable for caravans, tents and camper trailers. It is only accessible from Gym Beach Road, from outside the park boundary. A national park permit is required for the campground.

Gym Beach also serves as one of the entry and exit points for the Walk the Yorke trail, with the trail connecting Browns Beach and Gym Beach through the sand dunes via the Gym Beach Hike. It is a worthwhile walk for those wanting to see more of this remote section of coastline on foot.

How Gym Beach got its name is not recorded anywhere we have found. If you know, we would love to hear from you.

History about Gym Beach.

Gym Beach sits on the traditional country of the Narungga people, specifically the Wari clan of the west coast, who have lived on and cared for this coastline for tens of thousands of years.

The surrounding land was among the earliest on the peninsula to be used by European settlers. Land near Cape Spencer was first grazed by William Burrage from 1847, and by the 1850s wells had been established along this stretch of coast to support sheep stations that spread through the region during the 1860s. Gym Beach, sitting at the northern edge of what would eventually become the national park, would have formed part of that pastoral frontier.

The land was incorporated into Innes National Park when it was established in 1970, with the park boundary drawn to run from Willyama Bay on the south coast to Gym Beach on the west coast. That boundary line is still where the park begins and ends today, placing Gym Beach in its unusual position right on the edge of a protected landscape that has been shaped by both the Narungga people and a century and a half of European settlement.

The origin of the name Gym Beach remains unrecorded. If you know the story behind it, we would love to hear from you.