Balgowan is a small coastal town on the west coast of South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. It is located approximately 20 kilometres west of Maitland. Like other towns popular with tourists on Yorke Peninsula, it has a large number of shacks, holiday houses, caravan facilities and a boat ramp. The population generally increases during peak holiday periods. The government town of Balgowan was surveyed in September 1878 and was named after a town located in Perthshire, Scotland.