Panmure Swimming Hole

Panmure Swimming Hole is a free 24-hour rest area and campground on Mount Emu Creek at 8830 Princes Highway, Panmure, roughly halfway between Terang and Warrnambool in Victoria's south west. Dogs are welcome, the camp costs nothing, and the freshwater swimming hole with its diving board and rope swing is the whole point of stopping.

Dogs at the swimming hole

Pets are allowed at the campground and generally welcome in the creek, with one firm rule: keep your dog on a lead within the camping and picnic zones out of respect for other campers. Walk them on-lead along the creek banks away from the camp instead. There are no pet facilities, so bring bowls, drinking water and waste bags and pack out the mess. Keep in mind the creek also holds platypus, so a swimming dog is best kept to the open water near the diving board rather than the reedy edges.

Max: the lead stays on in the camp itself. This is a compact rest area shared with families and road-trippers, and calm is what keeps free camps like this one open to dogs.

The camp

Expect flat grass sites for tents and vans, flushing toilets, an undercover shelter with picnic tables and free electric BBQs, a playground and rubbish bins. Stays of up to 72 hours are the norm. The tap water is non-potable tank water, so bring your own drinking supply for you and the dog. Being right on the Princes Highway, trucks pass through the night, so light sleepers should pick a site toward the creek side. The Panmure Hotel and a small general store are within walking distance.

Getting there and parking

Access is direct off the Princes Highway (A1), with a large free car park at the site itself. Warrnambool is 20 to 25 minutes west for supplies, beaches and the whale season coastline, and the swimming hole doubles as a lunch-stop pool on the Great Ocean Road run inland.

While you're out there

Panmure Campground sits next door if you want a comparison listing, Victoria Park Community Dog Park gives your dog an off-lead run in Warrnambool, and Rough Diamond is a good coffee stop out west. For powered sites with dog-friendly cabins, NRMA Warrnambool Riverside Holiday Park and Koroit-Tower Hill Caravan Park are the closest alternatives.

More options are on the Victoria dog-friendly stays guide and the Panmure destination page.