About the Walking Trail

The Bakers Creek Trail is one of the Samphire Coast Shorebird Trails at Thompson Beach.

The Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary is a unique safe haven for shorebirds, many of which are truly remarkable – migrating each year between Australia and the northern hemisphere on the East Asian – Australiasian Flyway network, one of the world’s greatest migration flyways.

The Bakers Creek Trail starts from the northern end of the Esplanade. Brochures and maps are often available at the nearby Third Creek Trail trailhead, or you can download the brochure.

The Samphire Coast Shorebird Trails are named after samphires – an edible herb that grows on low lying saline areas. The plants remove excess salt, often storing it in their leaf tips which dry up and break off. They come in a variety of colours including green to pink, red and purple.

A Warning

The other trail that is part of the Samphire Coast Shorebird Trails at Thompson Beach is the Third Creek Trail, which is located at the southern end of the Esplanade.

If you were to walk only one of the two trails, we would recommend the Third Creek Trail, over the Bakers Creek Trail, as the Third Creek Trail has been upgraded, has a clear trailhead, an easy to follow 900m loop and moderately easy to follow longer loop.

The trailhead for the Bakers Creek Trail isn’t very clear – it’s located beside the Samphire Coast Shorebird Trails signs, but the immediate start of the walking trail has become overgrown, and it’s easier to follow the dirt vehicle tracks out towards Bakers Creek (although keep a good watch out for approaching vehicles). The numbered points-of-interest signs are difficult to read and identify. The area is abused by reckless 4WD users. It can be easier to simply walk along the beach to Bakers Creek.