Delicate campground

Delicate Campground sits at 1010 Point Plomer Road, south of Crescent Head in Goolawah Regional Park, and it is one of the rare NSW park campgrounds where dogs can stay overnight. Camp with the tent door near the sand and walk the dog off-leash on the beach next door: that combination is what puts this spot on the map for dog owners.

Dogs at Delicate Campground

Dogs are permitted in the campground but must stay on-leash within its boundaries at all times; rangers and NPWS officers do patrol. The off-leash payoff is the beach: Delicate Nobby Beach is a designated off-leash area, and Big Hill Beach in the same regional park network is another. Once you step off the signed off-leash zones, onto walking tracks or Point Plomer Road itself, the leash goes back on and you need to pick up after the dog immediately. Note the distinction that makes all this possible: Goolawah is a regional park, which allows dogs in zoned areas, while surrounding true national parks ban dogs outright.

Max: off-leash here means on the signed beach, not the campground. Leash on at the tent, check where the zone starts and finishes, and keep the dog out of the dunes where shorebirds nest.

The setup

Bookings are essential, made in advance online through NSW National Parks, so do not count on rocking up. Fees were around $27 a night in mid-2023, so treat that as a guide and check the NPWS page for the current rate. Facilities are deliberately basic: flushing and drop toilets, cold showers, beach showers and picnic tables, with fire pits in designated spots subject to fire bans. Bring your own drinking water and everything else; you are camping on the coast, not in a holiday park.

Close by with the dogs

The rock pools around Delicate Nobby are worth a snorkel between dog walks, and whales move along this coast in season. Back in Crescent Head, Swell Nourished Cafe at Waves Campground is the dog-friendly coffee stop, and Pandanus Garden Bar and Restaurant covers dinner. If you want powered sites and cabins instead of basic camping, Crescent Head Holiday Park is the town alternative.

More options are on the New South Wales pet friendly stays guide and the Crescent Head destination page.