Little Desert National Park

Little Desert National Park is a nature reserve featuring sandy terrain, woodlands, and heathlands spread across multiple separate geographical areas. The landscape is shaped by sand ridges and gravelly formations interspersed with forested and open spaces.

The area served as grazing land from the 1840s onward before becoming a bombing target during World War II. It gained official protection as a national park in 1968.

The Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagalk peoples have deep roots in this land, which holds central importance in their stories and traditions. Visitors can sense this connection through the landscape itself, which remains meaningful to these communities today.

The area provides camping facilities, walking trails, and vehicle routes, though some paths may become impassable depending on weather and season. It helps to check conditions before visiting and prepare accordingly based on your planned activities.

The area is an internationally recognized bird sanctuary supporting over 200 bird species, including the malleefowl, which builds large mound nests from sand. This specialized nesting behavior represents an interesting adaptation to the sandy environment.