A Stop at Nature’s Valley Garden Route
Nature’s Valley is a cute village along the Garden Route Coast. I spent just an hour in the village with my siblings as we left Plettenberg Bay on our way to Storms River.
Garden Route Itinerary Suggestion
If you’re just passing through Nature’s Valley along your Garden Route trip as I did, then 2 hours is more than enough to visit this small village. First, visit the beach and take a short walk to see and feel the difference between the lagoon water and the ocean water. Then, head to the second beach and do the Nature’s Valley Viewpoint Hike. If you want to spend more time hiking, do the Salt River- Nature’s Valley Hike. We felt like a visit to the two beaches and the viewpoint was enough for us.
Nature’s Valley Beach
Find yourself a spot on either of Nature’s Valley’s beaches. Bring your own umbrella as I didn’t see spots where rentals were available.
The first beach is along the Groot River and has both lagoon water and the ocean.
The second beach is Nature’s Valley Beach. It has some cool-looking jagged rocks along the ocean, as well as sandy areas for heading into the ocean. This is also where the hikes begin to go to Nature’s Valley Viewpoint and the Salt-River- Nature’s Valley Hike.
The beaches are just a 5-minute car ride away from each other so you can easily visit both on the same day as well. Or, you can also walk the 2 km between the two beaches.
In December, the ocean water was too cold for me to get in.
Nature’s Valley Hikes
Nature’s Valley Viewpoint
Start the Salt River-Nature’s Valley Hike to get to the Nature’s Valley Viewpoint. Starting at the beach on the western side of town, walk along the water until you see the green sign for the hike. Head up through the Tsitsikamma forest to get a view over the beach. The google map point for the hike is correct. You’ll need to park wherever you can find parking in town. The closest parking spot is by Nature’s Valley Trading Post.
Salt River-Nature’s Valley Hike
The Salt River- Nature Valley hike is a 4km hike that you can do as an out and back hike or a circular route. There is a section of the path that goes underwater in high tide to be aware of this if you plan to hike the whole route. Check out this blog for more details.
Where to stay in Nature’s Valley
Although we didn’t stay here, there are plenty of super cute places to stay (that’s like 90% of the Garden Route though, right?). A quick search on Airbnb will pull up some great homes. Be sure to filter for homes with a kitchen so you don’t need to worry about where to eat.
Food
There is one restaurant in town, Nature’s Valley Restaurant and Pub. We didn’t visit because we just ate chips and apples but google reviews suggest that the woodfired pizza is really good there.
Right next door, you’ll also find Nature’s Valley Trading Store. This small convenience store will have your basics but you may want to do any big grocery shopping in Plettenberg Bay before making your way out here.
Parking
Nature’s Valley is a super small village. There are just a couple of streets in the whole vicinity. Both beaches have street parking.
Am I missing something about what to do in Nature’s Valley Garden Route? Let me know in the comments!