This park now protects a huge area of the MacDonnell Ranges with its fascinating suite of plants and animals, and tranquil waterholes in lush, sheltered gorges. A range of camping, walking and swimming opportunities are available for all the family. An alternative route joins Mereenie Loop Road via Hermannsburg and Finke Gorge National Park where 4X4 enthusiasts can sample the excitement of driving down the sandy creek bed of the mighty Finke River between towering red sandstone cliffs. The Mereenie Loop Road picks up traffic behind Tnorala and heads out across low sand dunes and down off the escarpment to Watarrka National Park. Fiery red rolling dunes creep to the edges of salt pans and the purple daytime haze of the ranges can be quickly transformed to a burning ochre by the setting sun.
Interesting plants add colour and contrast to the landscape.
Tall Desert Oakes grow in the swales between the dunes, their drooping branches swaying gently in the slightest breeze and stately Desert Kurrajongs dot the rolling hills between the ranges. Grass trees or Xanthorrhoeas with their blackened flower spikes stand like defiant sentinels watching over this ancient, colourful land. Watarrka National Park, which is famous for Kings Canyon and its maze of rock domes, lies at the end of the Mereenie Loop Road. Sheltered spring fed waterholes throughout the park are a refuge for several rare plants, many relics from a lone-gone wetter age. Glen Helen Lodge is 134 km from Alice Springs and 258 km from Kings Canyon.