Inline Cafe

Inline Cafe sits at 1885 Grand Ridge Road, Balook, right at the edge of the Tarra-Bulga National Park rainforest in the Strzelecki Ranges. It trades weekends, 10am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday, and dogs are welcome on the outdoor verandah while you warm up with coffee, hot chocolate or cake from the cabinet.

The dog setup

Dogs join you on the verandah; the indoor ordering and dining areas stay dog-free under Victorian food handling rules. There is no dedicated water bowl setup, so carry a travel bowl and water, especially after a drive up the range. The verandah looks over forest, so a settled leashed dog will be happy watching the world go by while you eat.

Max: check the cafe's social pages before driving up, it takes seasonal breaks and you do not want to wind down that road for a locked door.

Worth knowing

The important rule: dogs are not permitted anywhere inside Tarra-Bulga National Park itself. Parks Victoria prohibits dogs on all tracks, picnic areas and visitor grounds to protect native wildlife, so do not plan a bushwalk with your dog here. The cafe is the dog-friendly part of the trip: park the car, take the verandah table, and leave the rainforest walks for a second, dog-free visit. The menu runs to coffee, hot chocolate, cakes and light meals built on local Gippsland produce, with a wood fire going on cold mountain days and a pool table inside for humans.

Getting there and parking

Grand Ridge Road is reached from Traralgon in about 35 minutes via Traralgon Creek Road, or from Yarram by climbing Tarra Valley Road. Both approaches are steep, winding forest roads; take them slowly and allow extra time. Parking is at the cafe and the adjacent park visitor area.

Pair it with

For an off-lead run before the drive, Traralgon Dog Park is at the bottom of the range. If you are making a Gippsland weekend of it, BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park takes dogs on its Traralgon sites.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly cafes guide and the Balook destination page.