Our friends have been on the road for the last 12 months exploring all the beauty Western Australia has to offer. Lana has put together some of her favourite dog friendly campsites and areas to visit for you to help you on your travels throughout WA.
You can follow their journey on Instagram here: @barnesyfatlap_
10 Amazing Dog-friendly Campsites in WA
The family and I are on the road for 12 months and simply had to bring the two fur babies along for the ride. Buddy is a 3-year-old jack Russel and Penny is a puppy at only 11months old and is a Bull Arab X Border Collie. We’ll start at Kununurra, head west to Broome and all the way south to Perth.
90% of sites have plenty of dog bags to pick up after your pet which is a bonus and dogs must always be on lead in caravan parks.
We found the national parks where dogs are allowed and free camps to be the best. We read the vibe as to whether to let the dogs have off lead at times when it was posted . A friendly chat with other dog owners in the area always helps to establish if pets will be friendly together.
If dog barks excessively, you may be asked to move or leave especially in caravan parks. Controversially we did put bark collars on both dogs for this which we did find helpful for a jack russell who likes to let everyone know he's there to look after his humans.
Here's some of our favourite places to travel with dogs:
Woodman Point, Freemantle Caravan Park
Large, grassed sites with very big grounds to walk the dogs as well as long walking tracks to beach nearby. For families there’s a camp kitchen and large playground/jumping pillow. A little pricey but worth it especially with scenery and local cafes/food hub.
Midland Big 4 Caravan Park
A very cheap place to camp if you're watching your budget. Medium sized grassed area and caravan park to walk dogs with Bush Mead dog park and Whitehaven dog area within 15 minutes’ drive from caravan park. The campgrounds have a camp kitchen with ovens and fridge space and swimming pool. The staff are superb here! Just don’t walk the streets at night here and be sure to stay on the street closest to the open grassed area.
Carnarvon Caravan & Tourist Park (Wintersun)
The best allrounder for dogs and people. They have a fenced in off lead area for dogs at the back of the caravan park which is great for the pooches who need to let out some energy. The staff here are the most understanding and accommodating on the west coast. So many families stay here due to the huge play park and jumping pillow that the kids absolutely love. They park also has a pool with shady sitting area for the days you need to cool off but don't want to leave camp.
Red Bluff (Near Quobba Station)
Wow! This spot is mostly for you. The crashing waves at your doorstep, huge surrounding hills, wildlife galore, caves to chill in and just the best vibe. This campground is a must visit! You can walk your dogs around on lead only here.
Lucky Bay, Kalbarri
Cheap campsites off the beaten track, you will need to be fully self-sufficient here. The beautiful lagoon connects to the ocean to swim in and is a gorgeous spot to relax at. The dogs had plenty of time of lead here and regularly chased our car down to the beach. Public toilets are available here however they are a fair distance from beach camp sites.
Lefroy Bay, Ningaloo station
You will need to book through explore parks WA online for this beauty. At $8 per adult per night I would recommend maximizing the length of stay for this one. You know those instagram worthy pics of white sand and turquoise blue beaches? This spot is literally all that and more.
Expect numerous beautiful ocean creatures and plenty of snorkeling opportunities. A squid or two was commonly caught on our stay and the kids literally swam with wild dolphins here one morning. The dogs had heaps of off lead time and loved having a swim in the ocean. Penny was especially keen to swim out to dad on his arrival ashore every time. The sites are on the beach and occasionally windy, not a problem for my family but triggering for some. Self-sufficiency is a must here.
Barn Hill Beach Side Station Stay
Off grid sites are a must do experience once in your lifetime, personally I’ll be going back! This area offers spectacular ocean views, epic orange cliffs meets the beach scenery. We regularly took the dogs down to beach for a swim off lead. Hubby also caught some tuna here. There’s a little café, park for the kids and a beach vibe to die for.
Broome Caravan Park, Roebuck
Whilst there isn’t a huge amount in the park for dogs to do, the huge swimming pool and Broome activities make up for it. Cable beach was visited daily on our stay here, it is like QLDs Fraser island but accessible to everyone and dogs are allowed too. The dogs were off lead for hours here and loved running around with the locals. The camels and staircase to the moon were a must see whilst here also.
Mary Pool Free Camp (Great northern highway, Mueller ranges 6770)
Our favorite free camp so far on the trip for the dogs as they were off lead almost the entire time here. There is a large dirt area for the dogs to run amuck. There is also a body of water for the dogs to swim in, handy on those sweltering hot day. Best all its completely free.
Lake Kununurra Holiday & Caravan Park
Big enough park to take the doggies for a nice big walk by the lake. We took the boat out here on the lake and it was stunning. Buddy even came for a ride once or twice. They have a pet croc that visits most days.
Lana and Jared's trip with the kiddos and dogs is absolutely incredible to follow, and we are so grateful they chose to contribute to our blogs.
If you have some of your own favourite places to visit, feel free to leave a comment down below. Or if you'd like to contribute to our blogs with your favourite camping hacks, tips, or places to visit send us an email via the contact us page.
