Camp On-leash Highly confident, dog friendly

Chookarloo Campground, Kuitpo Forest

Kuitpo, SA

A quiet ForestrySA campground in Kuitpo pine country where dogs camp beside you, on lead.

The Guide's rating

The rules, in short

Before you go

ForestrySA welcomes dogs in its Mount Lofty Ranges plantations including Kuitpo Forest. Campgrounds, picnic areas and trails are designated dogs on lead zones, where the lead must be no longer than three metres. Outside those zones dogs may be off lead only if they are under effective control, meaning within sight, close by and responsive to voice. Dogs are not permitted in any Native Forest Reserve, and ForestrySA publishes a Kuitpo specific map showing where the on lead zones apply.

The campground itself is a dogs on lead zone, with a maximum lead length of three metres, as are the picnic areas and trails. Elsewhere in the plantation dogs may be off lead under effective control. Native Forest Reserves within the forest are closed to dogs entirely, so check the ForestrySA dogs on lead map before you wander.

When: Any time Camping is permitted from 1 April to 30 November annually. Wood fires are allowed 1 May to 31 October, subject to fire danger conditions. Overnight guests arrive after midday and depart before 11am.
Cost: Inexpensive A basic forestry campground. ForestrySA charges per vehicle rather than per person, and all bookings including day visits go through them.

Worth knowing before you arrive

Kuitpo is a working pine plantation. Expect log trucks, harvesting operations and closed coupes on forest roads.
Dogs are banned from Native Forest Reserves inside the forest, so the dogs on lead map is worth downloading before you go.
Camping is only permitted from 1 April to 30 November, so the campground is closed through summer.
Wood fires are allowed 1 May to 31 October only, and are subject to fire danger conditions.
Rainwater on site is not drinking water, so carry your own.
Everything must be booked online in advance, including day visits, and fees are charged per vehicle.

About Chookarloo Campground, Kuitpo Forest

Kuitpo Forest sits in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, a working plantation threaded with native woodland and walking trails, and it is state forest rather than national park, which is exactly why dogs get in. Chookarloo is its main drive in campground, a spread of designated sites in eucalypt woodland with timber shelters, fire pits and picnic tables, and it is small enough to stay quiet outside school holidays. The Heysen Trail passes nearby and the Chookarloo Walk loop starts from the campground itself, so you can get a decent leg stretch without moving the car. Camping is seasonal, running from April into late November, and wood fires are only permitted through the cooler months. Everything is booked online in advance, including day visits, so this is not a place to turn up on spec.

Which dogs it suits

Small Medium Large Giant

A properly dog friendly campground backed by the land manager's own written policy, with trails from the door and the on lead rules stated plainly. Points off for the seasonal closure through summer, compulsory advance booking, non potable water and the need to consult a map to know where dogs may and may not go.

What is there

Off-lead area
Parking
Toilets
Shade

Best for

a first camping trip with the dog cool season weekends Heysen Trail walkers people who want forest without a national park dog ban

What members say

out of 5 from No member reviews yet Loading reviews

Welcome

Space

Amenities

Safety

Members visited with

How dog friendly was it? required

Anything more specific? optional

Welcome

Did staff and other visitors make you feel your dog belonged there?

Space

Was there room for a dog without being underfoot?

Amenities

Water, shade, somewhere to tie up, bins for bags.

Safety

Traffic, fencing, other dogs, hazards underfoot.

Which size dogs did you bring?

What should other people know? When did you visit?

Nobody has reviewed this yet

If you have been here with your dog, you know something the official page does not say. Be the first to write it down.

See it on the big map

The details

Address: Chookarloo Campground, Kuitpo Forest, Kuitpo SA
Website: Official page
Coordinates: -35.2029, 138.7142

Highly confident, dog friendly

The dog rules come from official pages, and we checked it this month.

5 sources

Official ForestrySA, dogs in the forest Confirms: The land manager's own dog policy. Confirms dogs are welcome in ForestrySA forests, that dogs on lead zones apply in campgrounds, picnic areas and on trails with a maximum lead length of three metres, that dogs may otherwise be off lead only under effective control, and that dogs are not permitted in any Native Forest Reserve. Names Kuitpo Forest as one of the Mount Lofty Ranges forests the policy covers.
Official ForestrySA, Chookarloo Campground Confirms: Confirms the campground exists and is currently operating within Kuitpo Forest, and gives its GPS position of 35.2029 S, 138.7142 E, 23 designated camping sites, two timber shelters, hybrid toilets with disability access, fire pits, picnic tables, non potable rainwater, the Chookarloo Walk loop and Heysen Trail access, the 1 April to 30 November camping season, wood fire dates, per vehicle fees, online booking requirement and arrival and departure times.
Official ForestrySA, Kuitpo Forest dogs on lead areas map Confirms: ForestrySA's published map showing which parts of Kuitpo Forest are designated dogs on lead zones, which is the document visitors are directed to for the Kuitpo specific boundaries.
Official ForestrySA camping overview Confirms: Confirms Kuitpo Forest's camping options, that Chookarloo is the main drive in campground, that fees apply, and that bookings are taken online up to 365 days ahead. Repeats that dogs on lead zones apply at campgrounds.
Tourism body South Australian Tourism Commission listing for Chookarloo Campground Confirms: Independent state tourism body listing confirming Chookarloo Campground is a currently promoted, operating campground in the Kuitpo area.

Last checked 20 September 2026. Rules change, and seasonal beach rules change twice a year, so check with the land manager or the venue before you travel.

Know better?

Rules change and pages go stale. If you have been, tell us and the next person benefits.

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Chookarloo Campground, Kuitpo Forest

Before you go

Worth knowing before you arrive

About Chookarloo Campground, Kuitpo Forest

Which dogs it suits

What is there

Best for

What members say

Nobody has reviewed this yet

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