Ballina Beach Resort

Ballina Beach Nature Resort, still widely known as Ballina Beach Village, is a resort-style holiday park at 440 South Ballina Beach Road, on the southern side of the Richmond River from East Ballina, with gardens, a pool, a spa and a sauna and dune access to the beach. It is one of the Northern Rivers' most accommodating stays for dogs, with a fenced off-leash dog park inside the grounds.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in selected pet-friendly cabins, pool villas, glamping tents and powered or unpowered sites, and dogs of any size are generally accepted. An additional fee of roughly $40 per pet per night applies, so declare your pet when booking and confirm the current fee and which units are pet friendly for your dates.

The on-site dog park is fully fenced and shaded, so your dog can run loose without leaving the property. Everywhere else in the park, dogs stay on a lead and under control, cannot be left unattended, and are not allowed in the cafe, pool and other shared guest areas.

Worth knowing

The beach directly in front of the resort is not a dog beach, with council and national park rules applying, so plan your runs and swims at Patches Beach, the designated off-leash beach a short drive to the north. Do not let that put you off the resort itself, because the fenced dog park covers the off-lead time between beach trips.

Pepsi: book the site or cabin closest to the dog park and your mornings sort themselves out, a lap of the run before breakfast and the whole day still ahead of you.

Getting there

The resort sits along South Ballina Beach Road, a drive from the Ballina town centre across the river, with parking on site for cabins and campers alike. Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is within easy reach for flying visits.

While you're out there

Across the river in East Ballina, Compton Dog Park is a handy alternative run, and Reflections Shaws Bay Holiday Park is another pet-friendly base on the water. For coffee, Double Shot on Brighton welcomes dogs nearby.

More options are on the NSW pet friendly stays guide and the East Ballina destination page.