[citation needed] The Larapinta Trail was the brainchild of Alan Ginns, who was a national park planner with the Conservation Commission of the NT in Alice Springs from 1982 to 1996.

The trail was a key component of the concept for the West MacDonnell National Park, also one of Ginns' initiatives.

[citation needed] In the 1990s the walk was only half as long, with the section between Mount Sonder and Ellery Big Hole completed around 2000.

On 16 August 2014, Jessica Baker and Meredith Quinlan set a new record arriving at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station in 60 hours and 59 minutes, without crew and only the aid of drop boxes left at three locations en route.

These notice boards also show elevation graphs of the walk and alert walkers to potential dangers.