Camp On-leash Highly confident, dog friendly

The Paddock Van Park, Paronella Park

Mena Creek, QLD 4871

Pet-friendly van park behind the Mena Creek pub, with your first night included in Paronella Park admission.

The Guide's rating

The rules, in short

Before you go

The van park is pet friendly and Paronella Park's own page invites guests to bring their furry travelling companion. Dogs are not permitted inside the Paronella Park gardens because of the park's eco certification, and a complimentary dog sitting service is provided on the front deck while you tour. Dogs are reported to be required on a lead at all times in the campground with owners picking up after them, and dogs are not permitted in the on site cabins.

Leads at all times around the sites and amenities, and clean up after your dog. Dogs cannot enter the Paronella Park gardens at all, so plan the tour around the free dog sitting service, which independent reports say runs until about 4pm.

When: Any time Bookings are essential and are made through Paronella Park when you buy your admission.
Cost: Inexpensive Paronella Park advertises your first night at The Paddock free with Paronella Park admission, pre-booking essential, and additional nights at standard rates.

Worth knowing before you arrive

Dogs cannot enter the Paronella Park gardens under any circumstances because of the site's eco certification. Book the free dog sitting if you want to do the tour.
Dogs are not allowed in the on site cabins, only at the van and camping sites.
Cane toads are widespread across far north Queensland and are highly toxic to dogs that mouth them. Supervise dogs closely around the grass and amenities after dark.
This is wet tropics country. Paralysis ticks and heavy seasonal rain are both realistic, so check your dog over daily.
Bookings are essential and the first free night is subject to availability, so do not turn up unannounced.

About The Paddock Van Park, Paronella Park

The Paddock is Paronella Park's official van park, set on open grass behind the old Mena Creek Hotel and a short stroll from the ruins themselves. It is explicitly pet friendly, which matters because Paronella Park's own gardens are eco certified and animals are not allowed inside them. The compromise the park has landed on is a good one for travellers: park the van with the dog, then hand the dog to the free sitting service on the front deck while you take the guided tour, and collect it afterwards. Sites are level and mostly powered with drive through access, and the amenities block, laundry and camp kitchen are new. With the pub 300 metres up the road for meals, it is an unusually easy overnight stop for anyone towing a van through the Cassowary Coast with a dog on board.

Which dogs it suits

Small Medium Large Giant

An honest, operator confirmed pet friendly campground attached to a genuine drawcard, with a practical solution for the one place dogs cannot go. Marked down because the headline attraction next door is closed to dogs and the campground itself is straightforward rather than special.

What is there

Toilets
Laundry
Camp kitchen
Parking
Shade

Best for

caravanners crossing the Cassowary Coast with a dog an overnight stop that pairs with a major attraction travellers who need somewhere safe for the dog during a tour rigs needing drive through sites

Getting around

Level grassed sites with mostly drive through powered access, new amenities block with hot showers, laundry and camp kitchen, and direct walking access to the Mena Creek Hotel.

What members say

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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: 9 Mena Creek Road, Mena Creek QLD 4871
Website: Official page
Coordinates: -17.6552, 145.9562

Highly confident, dog friendly

The dog rules come from the operators themselves, and we checked it this month.

5 sources

The venue The Paddock Van Park, Paronella Park official page Confirms: That The Paddock is Paronella Park's official van park at 9 Mena Creek Road, that it is pet friendly and invites guests to bring their furry travelling companion, the amenities (toilets, hot showers, laundry, camp kitchen, powered sites with mostly drive through access), the first night free with Paronella Park admission and that pre-booking is essential.
The venue Where to stay, Paronella Park Confirms: That Paronella Park operates cabins plus caravan and camping grounds, that a site for a night is included with admission, that bookings are essential, and the park's postal address and phone number. Note this page does not mention pets.
The venue Paronella Park official Facebook post on animals and eco certification Confirms: The park's own statement that, due to its eco certification, animals are not allowed in the park itself and that a sitting service is provided instead.
Community Pets at Paronella Park, Pet Friendly Accommodation directory Confirms: That dogs must be on a lead at all times in the caravan park and owners must clean up after them, that dogs are not allowed in the cabins, and that the complimentary dog sitting runs on the front deck until about 4pm.
Community Pupsy listing for Paronella Park caravan park Confirms: Independent corroboration that the Mena Creek camping ground is marketed and used as dog friendly camping.

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.

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