Cape Town waives entry fees at four nature reserves for Heritage Day weekend

Cape Town residents and visitors will get free entry to four of the city’s nature reserves over the Heritage Day weekend, from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 27 September 2026.

The offer covers Blaauwberg, Helderberg, Table Bay and Tygerberg nature reserves, which ordinarily charge entrance fees. Visitors can walk, hike, birdwatch and picnic, and the city points to the spring blooms and landscapes on show.

Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Alderman Eddie Andrews said the free-entry period forms part of the city’s Heritage Month programme.

“This Heritage Month we want to celebrate Cape Town’s natural heritage. These reserves protect extraordinary landscapes and biodiversity, and they are also places that residents can experience and enjoy,” Andrews said.

“We encourage Capetonians to use the Heritage Day weekend to visit their local nature reserve or discover one they have not explored before. Take a walk in nature, enjoy a family picnic, go birdwatching or simply spend some time outdoors.”

Andrews said the city manages a network of nature reserves and conservation areas across Cape Town, many of which are free to visit at any time. Those areas protect the city’s biodiversity and provide space for walking, hiking, birdwatching and picnicking.

Outside the four reserves in the free-entry offer, the city lists the coastline at Blaauwberg, hiking at Tygerberg, the wetlands at Zandvlei, False Bay and Table Bay, and Schapenberg Nature Reserve in Somerset West, described as one of the newer additions to the conservation network. Other city-managed reserves named in the announcement are Bothasig Fynbos, Botterblom, Bracken, Durbanville, Edith Stephens, Harmony Flats, Paardevlei, Steenbras, Uitkamp Wetland, Witzands Aquifer and Wolfgat.

The waiver applies to entry only. Normal charges continue for other permitted recreational activities at the reserves, including water sports.

This report is based on the City of Cape Town’s announcement as carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency), which is a summary of the city’s position rather than the full record of the decision.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Free access to selected Cape Town nature reserves over Heritage weekend