Discovery Parks - Goolwa

Discovery Parks - Goolwa is a large holiday park at the mouth of the Murray on the Fleurieu Peninsula, with cabins, powered sites and the family features you'd expect from the chain. It's one of the designated pet-friendly parks in the Discovery network, so a dog-friendly Goolwa base is a matter of booking the right accommodation category.

Dogs at the Discovery Parks Goolwa

Pets are allowed only in specific pet-friendly options: the Superior 2 Bedroom Pet Friendly Cabin, which sleeps up to six, and selected caravan, camping and powered sites. Standard cabins are off-limits to pets, so you must book a pet-friendly category and notify the park at the time of booking; an unannounced dog risks refusal or extra charges. Dogs stay on-lead outside your site or cabin and out of communal indoor facilities like the camp kitchen. Any pet surcharge isn't published up front, so confirm it during the online booking flow. The park itself has a camp kitchen, BBQ areas, fire pits and the jumping pillow reviewers keep mentioning.

Worth knowing

The park draws a 4.5 rating from more than 650 reviews, with clean cabins and family facilities the recurring praise. Goolwa Beach has seasonal rules under Alexandrina Council: from December to April dogs must be on-lead between 10am and 6pm, while from May to November the beach is off-lead under effective control. Wherever you walk, keep the lead on within 50 metres of signed hooded plover nesting areas, and check the council's dog maps for zone boundaries.

Getting there and parking

Goolwa is about 80 minutes' drive south of Adelaide, and the park sits handy to the wharf precinct, the barrage and the beach. Drive-through powered sites suit larger rigs, and off-street parking comes with the cabins.

Close by with the dogs

Bombora on the River sits by the water with outdoor seating that takes dogs, and the Kuti Shack at Goolwa Beach is the post-swim coffee stop. For an off-lead run outside the summer hours, the fenced Port Elliot dog park is a few minutes up the coast, and the Middleton to Port Elliot trail makes an easy on-lead walk. Our South Australian pet friendly stays guide covers the rest of the Fleurieu.