Things to do with kids in Yorke Peninsula

The rusty remains of the 1904 wreck lie at the northern end of Ethel Beach, though shifting sand sometimes hides them. A steep staircase leads down from the sealed car park, and a bluff-top track has signs about the ships. Strong rips and waves make this a beach for exploring, not swimming.

Around 200 people once lived at Inneston, which had its own school, bakery, post office and tennis court. Parks SA lists the walk through the ruins as 2km, about an hour; watch for unstable walls and carry water. Stromatolites grow in Inneston Lake, a short walk away.

An accessible, pram-friendly path leads to Cape Spencer lookout and its 360-degree views. A walk of about an hour return continues to the lighthouse. Park entry is $14.40 per vehicle, and Parks SA warns of more feral bees than usual in the park this season.

Marion Bay has a sheltered swimming beach popular with families, and a surf beach on the other side. The town is the gateway to Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park. Fishing from the jetty is another way to pass an afternoon.

The tides fill this free pool, which is about 0.9m at its deepest and has steps into the water. It dates back to the 1880s and suits kids learning to swim. Lawns, barbecues and toilets sit right beside it.

Port Vincent's town beach is a favourite with young families, and kids love swimming out to the pontoon. The water is clear and the beachfront is a good spot for fish and chips. A marina sits at the northern end of the beach.

A swimming enclosure with pontoons sits off the side of the long L-shaped jetty. Splash Town on the foreshore is free, with four big water slides, a kiddie slide and a tipping bucket. Its 2026–27 season opened on 26 September, and children must be supervised at all times.

The Model School Museum has 14 rooms, including a classroom set up as it was around 1900. Entry is $10 for adults and $4 for kids aged 4 and over. In school holidays, the tourist railway leaves daily at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1pm and 2pm for a 50-minute trip past reservoirs and tunnels.

George was taken from the stomach of a whale in about 1980 and is now preserved at the Heritage and Nautical Museum on Jetty Road. There are displays on copper smelting, a lighthouse and a racing boat too, and kids pay $4. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and on Mondays in school holidays.

The Farm Shed Museum shows dryland farming machinery, including the stump-jump plough, and early mining history. A schoolroom has been restored to how it looked in the 1950s. It opens daily but closes when the next day's Kadina forecast is 37 degrees or more, so check before a summer visit.