Thomas Hill House

Thomas Hill House is a former ForestrySA farmhouse and forest headquarters set in Cudlee Creek Forest in the Adelaide Hills, right beside Fox Creek Bike Park and about 40 minutes from Adelaide. It is let as whole-of-house group accommodation: two bedrooms with bunks for up to seventeen people, an open fireplace, and a large outdoor area with fire pit and picnic tables looking out over the forest. The house is booked exclusively, so your group and your dog have the grounds to yourselves.

Dogs at Thomas Hill House

ForestrySA lists the house as pet friendly on an enquire-first basis, so confirm your dog at the time of booking rather than assuming. Once approved, dogs are welcome through the house and grounds provided they stay under control at all times, and they need to stay off the bunks and furniture or you risk a cleaning fee. Bring your own dog bedding, bowls and food, since none of that is supplied. ForestrySA carries out fox baiting in the surrounding forest, so keep your dog on a lead when walking near the bike trails or forest paths, and keep the property gate locked.

Worth knowing

Bookings run between 1 April and 30 November with a two-night minimum, arriving from 2pm and departing by 10am. Water on site comes from bore and rainwater tanks and is not suitable for drinking, so pack drinking water for the whole group, dog included. The house has mains power, two bathrooms, a kitchen with fridge, stove and crockery, and a lounge with an open fireplace, but linen is not supplied. You need to call the Kuitpo Forest Information Centre on (08) 8391 8800 one day before arrival to arrange access.

Getting there and parking

The house is on Croft Road, Cudlee Creek. From Adelaide, take the South Eastern Freeway to the Hahndorf exit, follow Onkaparinga Valley Road through Verdun to Woodside, turn onto Tiers Road to Lenswood, follow Coldstore Road for about three kilometres, then turn onto Croft Road. Parking is on site, and vehicles are not permitted to drive into the forest itself.

Close by with the dogs

Fox Creek Bike Park next door has mapped trails, though dogs need to stay clear of active bike runs, and the Heysen and Mawson Trails pass close by for longer walks. For a different base with a tavern and caravan sites, Cudlee Creek Restaurant Tavern and Caravan Park is down the hill, and Waterfalls at Basket Range is another forest-edge stay. In Woodside, Avalon of Woodside is a coffee stop on the way through, and Simon Tolley Cellar Door and Accommodation pairs a tasting with vineyard walks.

More options are on the South Australia dog friendly stays guide and the Cudlee Creek destinations page.