The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the Murray Mouth near Hindmarsh Island and the Sir Richard Peninsula, and it extends about 130 kilometres (81 mi) south-eastwards.

[8] The Coorong Game Reserve which was purchased by the Government of South Australia in 1968 was abolished on 14 January 1993 and its lands was added to the national park.

[9] The game reserve occupied part of the Coorong lagoon to the immediate west of Salt Creek and had an area of 68.4 square kilometres (26.4 sq mi) as of May 1982.

[11] The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the Murray Mouth near Hindmarsh Island and the Sir Richard Peninsula, and it extends about 130 kilometres (81 mi) south-east.

[16] The Coorong is of great cultural significance to the Ngarrindjeri people, who have songlines relating to creation stories associated with the area as well as a long history of living sustainably and looking after the complex environment.

[18] Ngarrindjeri elder and well-known weaver Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, who is Tom's widow, works from one of the rooms at the camp, along with artist and academic Jelina Haines, who was born in the Philippines.

[18] The wetlands within the part of the national park containing the Coorong Lagoon form a complex ecosystem of freshwater, estuarine, and hypersaline waterbodies with a unique diversity of habitats for plants and animals.

[20] Ongoing as of 2021[update], the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation is working with the Department for Environment & Water to share their knowledge of landcare practices, which will be incorporated in a new database.

It has also supported significant numbers of orange-bellied parrots, fairy terns and hooded plovers, although their usage of the site has declined from reduced freshwater inflows.

[21] The largest pelican rookery in Australia is at Jack Point, just off the Princes Highway and about 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Salt Creek.