Knysna Holiday Activities & Hiking Trails

The Elephant Walks

These light to moderate walks take place in the Diepwalle Forest that was once home to between 500 and 600 elephants. Today there are only 4 left - that authorities know of. This area was also home to the woodcutters. The walks are great for anyone who wants to get a real forest experience with all the forest birds, the fungi and mushrooms, baboons, bushbuck and many more forest species.

Goukamma Nature Reserve
This is a fairly easy walk with great views that takes you up and over some vegetated dunes and returns to the reserve through the Milkwood forest. It starts by crossing the river in a small boat and then you climb through the beautiful dune forest up to the top of the dunes where a 360 degree view awaits you of the completely undisturbed beach, Goukamma river mouth, dune forest and on the other side one looks straight through to the indigenous forest and the George mountains in the distance. This is a great light to moderate coastal walk.

Millwood Mines Circuit

Description: A short easy but incredibly interesting walk with outstanding examples of mountain fynbos and moist high forest - the site where gold was first discovered in RSA in the middle of the Knysna Forests. Explore old shafts in the forest nestled behind little water falls, listen to the famous loeries and then visit the old mining museum and original site of the Millwood village. Nothing remains of the old village except some old restored mining equipment. This light walk features historic interest, beautiful indigenous forest and mountains and old abandoned mine shafts in the kloofs and gorges.

Woodcutters Trail

This light to moderate walk takes you to the heart of the Knysna Indigenous Forest in the Goudveld area with many prime examples of 600+ year old Outeniqua Yellowwoods and 3m high tree ferns. The heart of the Knysna Indigenous Forest in the Goudveld area with many prime examples of 600+ year old Outeniqua Yellowwoods and 3m high tree ferns.

Description: Huge trees, old giants , the hysterical cackling of red billed wood hoopoes, massive tree ferns, gulleys, streams, ancient ironwood trees - the heart of the forest. Arum lilies, fungi, bracket fungi's, porcupines, baboon droppings, bushpig droppings and bushbuck droppings are seen on almost every corner. Suitable for all ages, from 5 years old to .

These are just a few of the many day walks available in the Knysna area. A walk in the forest is one of the best ways to really see the forest - to experience it.