There is something truly special about being in a forest, surrounded by ancient giants and completely pure silence, broken only by the gurgling of streams and occasional bird calls. Where there are forests, there are hiking trails and Knysna’s 60,000 hectares of unspoilt indigenous woodlands provides oodles of opportunities to get out and explore nature at its very best.
From easiest to hardest, here are our favourite Knysna day hiking trails.
Located on the N2 just before you enter Knysna (coming from Plett), is the aptly named Garden of Eden, which provides about a kilometre of easily accessible wooden decking meandering through some pristine forest over a picture perfect forest stream. This trail is great for young and old, fit and unfit and it is wheelchair friendly to boot. It has lovely picnic benches along the way and you can spend just an hour or a whole afternoon absorbing the natural beauty and capturing it all for your Instagram feed.
Tip – Look carefully for Knysna Dwarf Chameleons – the foliage is teeming with these colourful creatures
At the Northern tip of the Diepwalle section of the Knysna forest, lies the Dal-van-Varings (Valley of Ferns) picnic site. This is the ideal spot to encounter some of Knysna’s Jurassic Park-like fern forest without having to trek too far to do so. There is a short walk of around half a kilometer which meanders through magical tree ferns under towering gnarled trees – this is a path that will quite literally make your heart sing. You can combine your visit with a drive via Kom-se-Pad which winds through the Gouna and Diepwalle sections of the forest and gives you a magnificent peek into the heart of wild Knysna and must be one of the prettiest roads in South Africa.
Tip – The Valley of Ferns is one of the ten stops on the Rooted in Time self-drive forest tour (Click here for more info) and we highly recommend combining all the stops in one day trip
Tucked in the Rheenendal section on the other side of the Knysna lagoon lies Jubilee Creek, Knysna’s most picturesque picnic spot. The crystal clear creek is stained brown from all the tanins and sparkles in a warm glow as it gurgles through the forest. The first km or so of the trail is along the river, then it winds its way into the forest past some old mine shafts to a pool with a small waterfall where you can have a lovely dip. The whole trail is around 3.6km long and is a really easy flat walk. The old gold mines date back to a short lived gold rush in the 1880s and it is fascinating to explore the tunnel entrances and imagine life back in the day. There are picnic sites along the creek at the start of the trail and you can easily spend the whole day soaking up the exquisite surroundings, paddling in the creek, breathing the clean air and soaking up the sun as it shimmers off the water and sparkles through the verdant forest canopy.
Tip – Jubilee Creek is an extremely popular place, so it’s a good idea to head there early if you prefer to have the trail and pool to yourselves
The entire Western Knysna head is home to the Featherbed Nature Reserve. The Featherbed Eco Experience includes a magnificent ferry trip across the lagoon, where you then board unique 4×4 trucks which drive you up to the top of the mountain, with a view to die for over the estuary. From the top, there is a 2.2km walk down the slope and along the coast. With its decked pathways, staircases, tunnels and caves, this has to be one of the most Instagram-able walks in the world. Its hard to find the words to describe the breathtaking beauty of it all – it is one of those magical places which hits you right in your solar plexus and brings tears to your eyes. The 4 hour eco-experience including lunch is well worth the investment and is insanely good value for money when you consider that it combines a boat cruise, 4×4 trip, stunning hike and a delicious 3 course buffet lunch.
Tip –The Featherbed Nature Reserve is temporarily closed due to Covid-19, but we included it in our list as it is up there as one of the very best experiences we have had in South Africa, and is worth adding to your travel bucket list for when it opens again. Keep an eye on their Facebook page and website for updates
Over in the Harkerville section of the forest, between Knysna and Plett, the Perdekop trail is a lovely mostly-flat 9km circular route in the shape of a giant lollipop. It winds through verdant forest and crosses a little river about half way through, which provides the perfect place to enjoy a mid-hike picnic lunch. The trees and fauna are quite different to the Gouna and Diepwalle sections – probably because of its closer proximity to the coast.
Tip – Quite a few hiking and biking trails criss-cross the Perdekop trail. Make sure you follow the horse head signs pointing in the direction of the horse’s nose.
Deep in the middle of the thickest section of the forest, the Diepwalle forest station is the starting point for 3 circular hiking trails. These are our favourite Kynsna hikes, ranging from 7km (red elephant trail) to 8km (white elephant trail) and 9km (black elephant trail). Each hike is absolutely stunning, leading into thick ancient forest, past giant yellowwoods and through cretaceous-looking fern forests. We have never bumped into any other hikers on any of these trails – this is a place where you can completely escape modern civilisation and absorb the peace and tranquillity of what feels like a parallel universe.
Tip – Stay over for a few nights at one of Diepwalle’s camping decks and do a different hike each day, combining them into one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating retreats possible.
Also in Sanparks territory, in the Gouna section of the forest, lies the Terblans nature walk – a 6km circular trail that winds down to a gorgeous stream and back up through picture perfect forest right to the edge of the Knysna forest and back again via Kom-se-Pad. The trail is signposted with a bushpig pointing the way and offers fabulous, refreshing exercise in a spectacular environment. We found it so interesting to see how the path of the 2017 Knysna fires was halted by the indigenous forest – you can see where it wiped through the adjacent plantations and hit the edge of the forest, only managing to make it through the outer layers of the indigenous bush, confirming that indigenous trees are not as flammable as exotic forest.
Tip – The Terbans trail is one of the 10 stops in the Rooted-in-Time self drive tour. Drive from Knysna past Simola and make this your first stop of the day.
Starting at the Dalene Matthee memorial and big tree, this is a 9km circular route through the Goudveld / Millwood section of the Knysna forest. The first half of the trail is downhill through pristine forest. Midway there is the most gorgeous river and waterfall and then you head up a fairly steep forest road back to the monument. There is also a shorter 3 km loop, but the longer walk is so beautiful and well worth the extra effort. Keep an eye out for the incredible variety of fungi along the way.
Tip – Because this trail is downhill and uphill, it elevates the heart rate a bit and is best enjoyed early in the day before the humid heat kicks in. Head to Totties Farm Kitchen when you’re done and enjoy a well-earned tea or delicious lunch in the most charming setting.
Drive through the Harkerville section to the Kranshoek picnic site where this challenging 9km trail starts at the top of a tall waterfall. The trail begins with a steep but stunning climb down the side of the deep valley carved out by the river that flows over the waterfall and into the sea. The craggy rocks and buttresses surrounded by forest are beautiful and it’s fun to watch people zipping high across the valley above your heads on the Kynsna Ziplines. Once down in the valley there is a lovely walk along the river until you bash through some tall reeds out onto the craggy Kranshoek coastline. With its stark rocks and crashing waves, the coastline is quite spectacular to behold. You can choose to follow the coast for a few kilometres before climbing up and heading back along the top of the bluff, or you can shortcut straight up to the viewpoint. We started out along the coast, but after tackling a few rocky headlands and seeing them stretch on forever, we decided to rather cut our losses and head back via the shortcut. The coastal route is definitely not for the feint hearted! But then neither is the short cut, as it heads almost vertically up a sheer cliff all the way to the top. Once you make it up though, the viewpoint and the walk along the top back to the picnic site is amazing and makes the heart pumping adrenalin for those scared of heights worth it in the end.
Tip – If you’re not super fit, you may prefer to get your adrenalin kick by trying out the Knysna Ziplines which criss-cross the Kranshoek gorge. And if adrenaline is not your thing, you can experience Kranshoek’s rugged beauty by walking (or driving) to the viewpoint and back and enjoy the newly renovated braai areas at the Kranshoek picnic site.
We would love to hear your thoughts on these top Knysna day hiking trails as well as your recommendations for any that we left off our list. Leave a comment below with your experiences and suggestions.
Yours in adventure
Leave a Reply