Blacksmiths Beachside Holiday Park

Blacksmiths Beachside Holiday Park sits at 30 Gommera Street in Blacksmiths, a beachside suburb on the Swansea channel between Lake Macquarie and the ocean. It is a caravan and cabin park with ensuite sites, powered sites, a camp kitchen and BBQ areas, and its headline feature for dog owners: dogs are welcome all year round, school holidays included, which most parks will not allow. It carries a 4.3 rating across more than 400 reviews, with visitors pointing at the clean amenities and the short walk to the beach.

Dogs at the Blacksmiths Beachside Holiday Park

The park is run by Lake Macquarie Holiday Parks and their written pet policy applies here: a maximum of two dogs per site or cabin, and you must get management's approval before you arrive, because unapproved dogs are refused at the gate. Dogs are allowed on designated tourist caravan and camping sites and in specifically assigned dog-friendly cabins, but not in standard cabins or holiday vans. Inside the park, dogs stay on a physical leash and under an adult's control at all times, cannot be left unattended in a cabin, on a lead outside or on your site, and are banned from the amenities block, camp kitchen and pool enclosure. Dogs showing aggressive or menacing behaviour are not admitted. There is an onsite dog wash for sandy returns.

The beach out front

The off-leash news is as good as the park's: Lake Macquarie City Council allows dogs off-leash at all times on the Blacksmiths Beach stretch reached from the Awabakal Avenue access point, running from the car park south to the Belmont Golf Club boundary. Dogs must stay on lead on the access paths down to the sand, and off the beach entirely within 400 metres of a patrolled swim zone.

Getting there and parking

Blacksmiths is off the Pacific Highway at Swansea, about 30 minutes south of Newcastle. Parking is at your site or cabin, and the beach access off Awabakal Avenue is a short walk from the park gate.

While you're out there

For a second off-leash option, the Swansea dog exercise area is minutes away across the channel, and The Channel Cafe in Swansea serves the morning coffee run. Back in Blacksmiths, The Orana Hotel is the local dinner option.

More coastal bases are in our New South Wales pet friendly stays guide, and the rest of the suburb under Blacksmiths.