Kerang Holiday Park

Kerang Holiday Park sits on the Murray Valley Highway at Kerang, the Murray River irrigation town where the caravan crowd stops between Echuca and Swan Hill. The park is a working travellers base: pet friendly cabins and powered sites for passing van traffic, and one feature that sets it apart from the usual highway park, a dedicated off leash dog park on site.

That is a practical draw for anyone driving the Murray with a dog in the back who needs a place where the lead can finally come off at the end of a long day.

Dogs at the park

Per the park's own pet friendly setup and its listing notes, dogs are permitted on sites and in the designated pet friendly cabins on a leash, with a $15 per pet per stay charge. The on site off leash dog park is where the exercise happens, so the leash rule at the sites and cabins is not the inconvenience it first sounds.

Declare the pet when you book a cabin, because the pet friendly designation applies to specific cabins rather than the whole cabin fleet.

The fenced run earns its reputation from regulars: seating, shade, water bowls and a supply of tennis balls and throwers left behind by passing travellers. Guests also note the pet friendly cabins sit nearer the highway side of the park, close to the dog run, which matters if your dog startles at road train noise.

Worth knowing

Kerang keeps things simple for travellers: fuel, a bakery, a pub meal and the lake system around town if you want a water view walk. The park's position on the highway makes it an easy in and out for a one night stop or a base for a few days of Murray fishing.

Two park rules surprise people: no dog washing on site and no pet bedding in the laundry machines, so arrive with the dog already clean or plan a towel-down at the site. If the last weekend of the month lines up, the Kerang Community Market at Atkinson Park is a dog friendly on-lead morning with baker stalls that keep biscuits behind the counter.

If you are heading north instead, Mildura Sun Siesta Village Caravan Park continues the pet friendly chain up the river, and NRMA Mildura Riverside Holiday Park is the bigger riverside option. More dog friendly stays in Victoria are listed for the rest of the state.