It is completely located within the suburb of Garden Island,[1] and lies between the Port River and Barker Inlet.

Road access from the mainland is via a bridge while boat ramps are located at three places along the northern coast of the island.

[4] Garden Island is one of the geographical features in what is now the Adelaide metropolitan area that was formed as a consequence of sea level rise at the start of the Holocene.

Secondly, currents arising along the new coastline formed beaches, a coastal dune system and ultimately the spit known as the Lefevre Peninsula all by the process of longshore drift.

[6][2] As of 2014, land filling is still permitted by planning statute on the island in sections 463 and 464 of the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Port Adelaide.

[13][14][6] Since the 1970s, Garden Island has been used as a venue for recreational boating activities associated with adjoining bodies of water such as the Barker Inlet and Port River.