Dinner Plain Dog Friendly Travel Guide
Dinner Plain is a one of the best places to go to have a quintessential snow experience with your pup. A nice alpine town in summer it turns into a proper ’village’ in the snow in Winter.
Dogs are welcome in Dinner Plain as long as they are registered with your home council and on lead as per their info page on dogs in Dinner Plain.
Dog Friendly Free Camping at Dinner Plain (Seasonal)
Scrubbers End Carpark
This seasonal carpark (outside of snow season) offers dog friendly free camping in the warmer months of the year.
During snow season it is a permit-only carpark which means during summer when you are allowed to camp it is just a bitumen carpark for van camping. There is a toilet block at the end of the carpark.
It does have views over a nice little open alpine woodland grassland and it is within walking distance from Hotel High Plains Bar and Restaurant which has outdoor tables which are dog friendly.
Dog Friendly Eat & Drink
Hotel High Plains
A great lodge style bar and restaurant with dog friendly outdoor tables for the warmer months.
Dog friendly accommodation in Dinner Plain
The Village is primarily made of up private accommodation rentals that you can book directly through the management bodies as well as on websites like booking.com (make sure you tick the pet friendly box), airbnb and Stayz.
There are properties that are dog friendly and while you can’t take them into the national park they are welcome on lead on the tracks around the resort.
Accommodation in the snow season can book out a long way in advance and the closer it gets to the snow season the less more affordable properties are available to book. Unlike other tourist destinations it’s almost never on sale sale or cheaper at the last minute so best to book early avoid disappointment.
Here are a few options for dog-friendly accommodation.
THE HANGAR – Alpine-getaways
Images open in Agoda
Dogs in the Snow
Snow Boots
Many people find their dog is most comfortable in the snow in a set of dog boots to prevent damage to their pads such as cracking, drying and frost bite (issues that can occur according to the American Kennel Club).
That being said, anecdotally on dog travel pages in Australia some people report their dogs, particularly those who are better suited to cold environments, are more than happy to romp around for a short amount of time boot free.
If your dog is only going to spend a few minutes for the experience and not be doing long walks, you may not choose to invest in booties (which can be expensive for the good ones).
Otherwise, if you want to get out and about for a longer time its worth considering the purchase (chat with your vet for advice on the risk).
Jackets
Dog jackets may be an appropriate choice if you’re going to spending time outdoors in the snow.
I see dogs in clothing everywhere these days, and while vets definitely recommended for some breeds I regularly see dogs visibly uncomfortable and breathing heavily in their coats. Here is an article written by a Vet in South Australia with some more advice on which dogs may require a coat and when.