Lake Eyre in outback South Australia may be filling again, but a row has broken out over the right to sail on it.

Boating activities in the remote national park have been suspended until a dispute with an Aboriginal group can be resolved.

Recreational sailors were overjoyed the desert lake had burst back to life, but the Lake Eyre Yacht Club's proposal to hold a sailing event rankled the local Aboriginal clan.

Aaron Stuart is the Arabunna people's native title chairman.

"I totally disagree with anyone forming a yacht club for a novel appearance just to, you know, entertain their boredom up in that country," he said.

"To Arabunna people it's important to us. A lot of people think Uluru, Ayers Rock, you know, it's important to that Indigenous tribe.

"It's the same thing here. Lake Eyre is important to this Indigenous tribe, the Arabunna people."

The Arabunna are fighting to have native title recognised over Lake Eyre National Park.

Aaron Stuart said sailing on the lake interferes with their belief that natural objects have a soul.

They also want to respect what they call the keeper of the lake - a spirit that's instilled fear in the Arabunna for generations.

"We just want Lake Eyre to stay as it is, you know. That's our job," Mr Stuart said.

'Shattered'

The Arabunna's objections have puzzled Bob Backway, the commodore of Lake Eyre Yacht Club.

"We're sort of shattered, you know. It's just very hurtful to us," he said.

Mr Backway said club members sailed on the often-dry lake last year but only now had it become an issue.

"If it gets to the stage where people can say 'Because of our attachment you cannot use that waterway' you're sort of infringing on the common law right to boat on a navigable waterway," he said.

All requests to sail on Lake Eyre go through South Australia's Environment Department.

But district ranger of desert parks, Tony Magor, said the process had now come to a halt.

Asked his thoughts about access to the park, Mr Magor said:"It's a public estate, it's open to everyone, however there are sort of considerations and there are times where certain parts of parks are closed off for various reasons.

"We've now got an issue and we've just got to work through that to try and get a result."

He said boating had been "pretty much [suspended for] everyone at this stage".

There is a meeting planned for next week and the South Australian Government hopes that will be able to break the impasse.