Hallett Cove itself is a small rocky beach, named after
John Hallett, who came across it in 1837 whilst searching for missing stock.
The Field River runs out to sea at the southern end. The cliffs to the north are part of the
Hallett Cove Conservation Park, featuring Aboriginal artefacts used by the Kaurna tribe and several significant geological features.
These include glacial striations on the clifftop discovered by Professor Ralph Tate in 1877, which along with similar striations found earlier at Selwyn's
Rock at Inman Valley, 40 km to the south in 1859, provide evidence for the Permian glaciation of southern Australia, then part of Gondwana. There are also a number of large glacial erratics on
the beach.