Herron Point Campground

Herron Point Campground is a nature-based bush camp on the sandy shores of the Harvey Estuary, run by the Shire of Murray and about an hour south of Perth past Mandurah. It is unpowered, no-frills camping where you pick your own patch rather than a numbered bay, and it is one of the few council-run camps in the region that genuinely welcomes dogs overnight. Crabbing, estuary birdlife and long sunsets over the water are the reason people keep coming back.

Dogs at Herron Point

Well-behaved dogs are allowed to stay, provided they are contained to your campsite or kept on a lead at all times. That lead rule is not fussiness. 1080 poison baits are laid in the bushland around the campground for pest control and they are fatal to dogs, so the thick scrub beyond the camping area is off-limits full stop. Walk the estuary shoreline on the lead instead. There is no pet fee beyond the standard site fee, and no size limit is listed, but bring your own drinking water for both of you because there is none on site.

Worth knowing

Book online before you arrive through the Visit Pinjarra portal, because advance booking is required and sites are allocated by choice rather than number. Fees run about $20 a night with a maximum stay of five nights in any 21-day period. Facilities are honest bush-camp standard: flushing toilets, a dump point and a boat ramp, but no showers, no power and no drinking water. Solid fuel campfires are prohibited, and the wetland setting means mosquitoes are a fact of life, so pack serious repellent for yourself and keep an eye on the dog's water bowl. Access is off Old Coast Road onto Herron Point Road, a gravel track manageable for cars, caravans and tents.

While you're out there

Mandurah is a short drive north when you need supplies or a day out, and the coast picks up where the estuary leaves off. Halls Head Dog Beach gives your dog a legal off-lead splash south of the Mandurah Marina. On the way through, Dome Cafe Pinjarra is a handy coffee stop in town. If you would rather be closer to facilities, Pinjarra Caravan Park and Mandurah Caravan and Tourist Park are the powered alternatives.

Pepsi: the 1080 baits in the bush are no joke. Leash on from the car to the campsite and stay on the shoreline path, never into the scrub.

More pet-friendly WA stays are in our state guide, and our Birchmont guide covers the local area.