A 630-metre concrete barrage built in 1940 to keep salt water out of the Lower Lakes, the Goolwa Barrage is a favourite wildlife spot where fur seals, pelicans and cormorants gather and visitors can walk right out over the lock gates.
Where fresh meets salt
The Goolwa Barrage is one of five barrages completed in 1940 that separate the freshwater Lower Lakes from the tidal waters flowing out to the Murray Mouth. It has become the most popular to visit because of an excellent interpretive walkway, resident fur seal colony and public viewing platform over the lock gates.
What visitors do
From the free car park a 250-metre path leads out across the barrage, passing a series of interpretive signs about the river, the Coorong and the Ngarrindjeri Country it runs through. Long-nosed fur seals regularly lounge on the downstream side of the wall, and pelicans, black swans and cormorants work the water below. A newer viewing platform above the lock lets you look straight down into the Coorong side and watch commercial fishing boats lock through.
Practical notes
Free, open daily during daylight. Free parking, picnic tables, BBQs and toilets at the trailhead. The path is sealed and level, suitable for wheelchairs and prams. Bring binoculars. A small information building at the car park has more material on the river system. Dogs are not permitted beyond the car park.
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Sources
- Goolwa Barrage - official source - www.visitalexandrina.com (accessed April 2026)
Image credits
- Goolwa Barrage by Hullwarren , CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons