Watermill Cottage Campground

Watermill Cottage Campground is a quiet, budget campground at 30 Bowens Road, York Town, on Tasmania's west Tamar. At roughly $10 a night it suits self-sufficient travellers with dogs who value space and stillness over the facilities of a busy holiday park, and campers regularly recommend it as the answer when the parks at Greens Beach and Beauty Point turn pets away.

Dogs at the campground

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor campsite areas, and camper reports consistently describe a warm reception, including a friendly resident dog on site. Keep your dog on a lead whenever it is outside your designated campsite, which respects other campers and local native wildlife. Only basic water is available and nothing specific for pets, so bring all food, bowls and supplies from home. Campfires are generally allowed outside fire-restriction periods, which makes an evening by the coals with a settled dog part of the appeal.

The place

This is a peaceful, spacious campground rather than a commercial holiday park, built around a scenic running watermill and pond. Sites are grassed and large enough for real privacy, with drive-in access for caravans, campervans and 4WDs plus an RV turnaround. Amenities are basic: toilets, water and a dump point. Come equipped, as campers note you should be largely self-contained, and the nearest full shopping and fuel is about 15 minutes away in Beaconsfield.

Getting there and out with the dog

York Town Road branches off the West Tamar Highway and runs out to the locality, which was the site of a short-lived 1804 settlement attempt. The York Town Historic Site has a flat 15 to 20 minute self-guided loop that makes an easy leashed leg-stretch. Greens Beach, a short drive north, is a long, scenic stretch of sand where dogs are welcome on a walk, and for an off-lead session the Beaconsfield fenced dog park is the reliable option en route. If the budget campground is not your style, Greens Beach Caravan and Holiday Park is the full-facility alternative on the coast.

More options in the region are on the York Town destination page, and the full list is in the TAS stays index.