Gateway Motor Inn Narrandera

Gateway Motor Inn Narrandera is a highway motor inn on East Street in Narrandera, the Riverina town where the Sturt and Newell Highways meet and the Murrumbidgee irrigation country starts. It is a working motel that serves that crossroads trade, and its in-house Lazy Lizard restaurant saves you the drive back out for dinner after a long day on the road.

Dogs at Gateway Motor Inn Narrandera

The motel states plainly on its own site that it is pet friendly, and guests report that pets are routinely accommodated without fuss. What is not published is any detail on fees, size limits or designated rooms, so the honest description is: pets welcome, terms flexible, details decided at booking time. If you are travelling the Riverina with a dog, call ahead and describe your pet so there are no surprises at check-in; the informality cuts both ways, and confirming is what turns a friendly policy into a smooth night.

Two practical notes from regulars. Doors open straight onto the car park, so ask for a room away from the busier end if your dog barks at passing traffic, and give the office a heads-up on late arrivals, which the old-school management handles better than most chains. The on-site restaurant runs Monday to Saturday, so plan a pub or takeaway dinner if you roll in on a Sunday evening.

East Street itself is all pavement, so the five-minute leash walk down toward the quieter residential edges or the park precincts beats circling the car park for toilet breaks. In summer, walk early or late, because the midday tarmac heat is brutal and the shaded riverbank spots are the go.

Worth knowing

Narrandera is a genuine country town rather than a highway stop, with a big pub presence, the Lake Talbot water complex, and the famous koala colony along the Murrumbidgee. The motel's East Street position puts the town centre and the river parks in easy reach. For dog owners, the river flats and town parks make for good on-lead walks.

One trap worth naming: dogs are prohibited inside the Koala Walking Track in the Murrumbidgee Valley Nature Reserve, which is the thing most visitors come for. Regulars walk the adjoining Flora and Fauna Reserve instead, where leashed dogs are welcome and you still get the river-gum country.

Pair it with

Narrandera works as an overnight stop on a Sydney-to-Adelaide or Melbourne-to-Brisbane inland run, or as a base for the Riverina itself. The NSW pet friendly stays index covers the whole state, and Griffith, the food-bowl town an hour north-west, has dog-friendly cafes and a pub in our listings for a lunch stop on the way through.