If you're interested in finding out about national parks in Cape Town, pack into the car with us, we'll take you to our favourite spots.

One park with many names?

Officially there is only one national park in Cape Town - the Table Mountain National Park.

It used to be called the Cape Peninsula National Park.

It takes in the entire mountain chain along the length of the Peninsula from Signal Hill, Lion's Head and Table Mountain down, down, down... all the way to Cape Point.

You may be looking for something specific...

People often refer to places as individual nature reserves when they are actually part of the national park in Cape Town. Here are links to detailed information about areas you may be looking for -

Silvermine Nature Reserve

Cape Point Nature Reserve (or Cape of Good Hope)

Rondevlei Nature Reserve

If you didn't find something you think should be here, let me know and I'll include it.

For a general overview of areas within the National Park, check out the rest of this page.

In the heart of a city - National Parks in Cape Town

Table Mountain National Park is in the middle of the city. Well, the southern part of the city anyway. That means there's a whole lot of nature-embracing potential and it's all very accessible.

Table Mountain National Park is an 'open access' park. There are only three places where conservation fees are payable - Cape of Good Hope (also known as Cape Point Nature Reserve), Silvermine and Boulders Beach . Otherwise you come and go as you please. Even at these spots, costs aren't too bad especially if you own a Wild Card as we do.

Different parts of the National Parks in Cape Town

Let's take a look at the different parts of the National Park in Cape Town and what you can do around it. We are making excellent use of Mike Lundy's books "Easy Walks in the Cape Peninsula" and "Best Walks in the Cape Peninsula" to explore on foot.

Signal Hill

Along with Table Mountain itself, Signal Hill flanks the City Bowl. Also known as the Lion's Rump, this was one of the first places I visited when I moved to Cape Town - my (then) boyfriend took me there for sundowners! It's a great sundowner and picnic spot, or you can do an easy walk from Signal Hill towards Lion's Head. The view is noteworthy in any direction - the Atlantic Seaboard, Table Bay, the distant Hottentot's Holland mountains, the City Bowl and Table Mountain can all be seen from here. (Take something warm to wear - its position means it’s exposed to any wind and can be cool.)

Lion's Head

Lion's Head makes me think of two things - walking up it at full moon (great outing!) and paragliding. It's a steep, sweaty climb but what a reward, regardless of the time of day! To the west the ocean stretches to the horizon, watermarked by the wind and currents. Clifton beaches with their mega-million-rand homes nestle at your feet. If you ARE a paraglider (I'm not - too chicken!) you get to swoop your effortless way down to the waves' edge. Judging by the number of paragliders to be seen on still evenings, that's an adequate reward for the slog of lugging all your gear up there in the first place!

Table Mountain plus Devil's Peak and the Twelve Apostles

Such a landmark deserves a page of its own! For all the info you might need about Table Mountain, click here.

Southward: Constantia Nek to Silvermine

Constantia Nek is where the roads from Constantia and Kirstenbosch converge to join forces and head down the valley into Hout Bay. We make excellent use of the trails and tracks at Silvermine - they're great for easy walking (and strenuous hiking, come to think of it!).

At the foot of the Constantiaberg lies the Tokai forest, another regular haunt. This is a beautiful area to walk in the pine forests and is also popular with all the mountain bikers we know.

Mountain biking is great sport for humans but fairly devastating for the undergrowth. With this in mind, the inviting slopes dotted up and down the Peninsula are not all 'open for business'. There are a number of designated biking areas (click here to download the National Parks in Cape Town mountain biking protocol) but we'd recommend Tokai because it's quite sheltered and shady.

Fishhoek to Cape Point

There's plenty of hiking and walking to be done in the mountains between Fishhoek and Cape Point, but the highlight of this section of the National Park for me is Boulders Beach . To be able to share a beach with an African penguin colony offers hours of outstanding entertainment for very little outlay.

Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope

Contrary to what many people think, Cape Point is not the southern most tip of Africa - that honour belongs to Cape Agulhas a few hundred kilometres west.

We try to keep off the tourist track, but I do think the old Lighthouse at Cape Point is worth a visit, despite the regular presence of busloads of people. It's a wonderfully wild area, a very rugged scenic drive and then there's the pure exhilaration of being way up on a narrow spit of land jutting into the Atlantic Ocean.

Plan to arrive by 9.30am to avoid the rush and enjoy the view without the crowds. Then head out of there and enjoy the more tranquil parts of the reserve that are not easily accessible in busses.

Click here for more information about things to do around Cape Point.

You may find the following related pages helpful:
Cape Town Big 5 Reserves
Addo National Park
From National Parks in Cape Town to the Homepage