Monterey Tourist Park

Monterey Tourist Park is the former name of the lakefront holiday park at Mannering Park on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie, now trading as Ingenia Holidays Lake Macquarie. If you have found this page through the old name, the practical advice is simple: the park is genuinely dog friendly, but you book and confirm everything under the current Ingenia listing, and the waterfront villas at the top of the range are off limits to pets.

Dogs at the park

Dogs are allowed on designated pet-friendly sites and in selected pet-friendly accommodation, but not in every cabin, and the premium waterfront villa options are strictly pet free. Call reception before booking to clear your dog, register them and sign a pet stay agreement at check-in, and expect blackout dates during school holidays, peak periods and long weekends. A pet fee may apply on top of the site or cabin rate, and leaving a pet cabin soiled or hairy carries a minimum $200 cleaning charge, so bring your own bedding and towels for the dog.

Inside the park, dogs stay on a secure leash whenever they are outside your site or cabin, and they are excluded from communal indoor areas and amenities blocks. Management reserves final say on approvals, and persistent barking or aggressive behaviour can end a stay without a refund. The foreshore right outside the park makes on-leash walks effortless, which is most of what you need at a lakeside park.

Max: Booked under the new name, leashed the whole stay, and the lake walk out the front did the rest. No complaints.

Getting there and parking

The park sits on Monterey Avenue at Mannering Park, on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie about 30 minutes from Morisset and an hour from Newcastle. Access is easy for caravans, with parking at your site. The village has a small cafe and takeaway strip for supplies, with bigger shopping at Toronto or Morisset.

Make a day of it

For off-lead time, the Budgewoi Dog Beach is a short drive south and lets dogs run and swim, and the Dora Creek Dog Exercise Area works if you are coming or going via Morisset. Coffee and breakfast are close at The Corner Cafe & Spill the Tea Hydration Bar in the village. More options are in our NSW dog friendly stays guide and the Mannering Park destination page.