Dog-friendly campsites in the Western Cape: what we could confirm

Camping with a dog is one of the most common things people want to filter for, so we went through the published pet rules for every Western Cape campsite in our camping listings. We count a campsite as dog-friendly only when its operator says in writing that pets are allowed. On that test, the answer for our current Western Cape list is none.

The short answer: two of the 22 say yes in writing, and both are private. Most of the others are run by CapeNature, SANParks or a municipality, and their rules are strict about pets. The result is still useful: it tells you which well-known Western Cape camps to rule out before you load the dog, and which ones to ask.

What the 22 campsites say

Campsite	Area	Operator	Pets, as published
Kliphuis Campsite	Cederberg	CapeNature	Not allowed
Sanddrif Holiday Resort	Cederberg	Private farm	Not allowed
Tweede Tol Campsite	Bainskloof Pass	CapeNature	Not allowed
Grootvadersbosch Campsites	Overberg	CapeNature	Not allowed
Anysberg Campsites	Klein Karoo	CapeNature	Not allowed
Tietiesbaai (Cape Columbine)	West Coast	Saldanha Bay Municipality	Not allowed
Karoo National Park Rest Camp	Great Karoo	SANParks	Not allowed (SANParks rule)
Wilderness Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp	Garden Route	SANParks	Not allowed (SANParks rule)
Jamaka Organic Farm Campsite	Cederberg	Private farm	Not stated on the pages we checked
Cederberg Park (Kromrivier)	Cederberg	Private farm	Not stated on the pages we checked
Gamkaberg Campsite	Klein Karoo	CapeNature	Not stated on the pages we checked
Beaverlac Campsite	Olifants River Mountains	Private	Allowed (the camping page lists a charge per dog)
De Bos Campsite	Montagu	Private farm	Welcome by prior arrangement
Nuwerust Rest Camp	Southern Cederberg	Private	Not allowed
Keurbooms Lagoon Caravan Park	Garden Route	Private	Not allowed
Nature's Valley Rest Camp	Garden Route	SANParks	Not allowed (SANParks rule)
Diepwalle Forest Camp	Garden Route	SANParks	Not allowed (SANParks rule)
Lang Elsie's Kraal (Bontebok NP)	Swellendam	SANParks	Not allowed (SANParks rule)
Driehoek Guest Farm Campsite	Cederberg	Private farm	Not stated on the pages we checked
De Hoop Opstal Campsite	De Hoop Nature Reserve	De Hoop Collection	Not stated on the pages we checked
The Baths Caravan & Camping	Citrusdal	Private	Not stated on the pages we checked
Gecko Rock Campsites	Touws River	Private reserve	Not stated on the pages we checked

Two camps say dogs are welcome. Eight say directly that pets aren't allowed, and five are SANParks camps, where a park-wide ban applies. For the last seven, we couldn't find a published pet policy, so we've left them as unknown. Treat unknown as "ask first", not as a yes.

The two that say yes

Beaverlac, a private valley in the Olifants River Mountains above Porterville, lists a charge per dog on its camping page, so dogs are allowed there; camping must be booked. De Bos, a pecan-nut farm on the edge of Montagu, says pets are welcome by prior arrangement. Ask both about leash rules and how many dogs they take before you go.

Why the national parks are a no

SANParks' rules say no pets of any kind, including dogs, cats and birds, may be brought into a national park. The rules say transgressors will be issued with a summons and the pets will be destroyed. The one exception is guide dogs for visually impaired guests, and only by arrangement with park management and with the inoculations and permits the state veterinary department requires.

That covers all five SANParks camps in our Western Cape list, including these two:

There is one local wrinkle in the Garden Route. A SANParks notice from April 2015 set out specific areas in the Wilderness section where people may walk dogs, such as stretches of beach near Kleinkrantz and along the vlei where no sign prohibits it, with seasonal limits at some beaches over December and January. That notice is about day walks in listed public areas. It doesn't open the rest camp to dogs, and it is more than ten years old, so check current signage before relying on it.

The camps that say no

CapeNature's pages for Kliphuis, Tweede Tol, Grootvadersbosch and Anysberg all list pets as not allowed. Sanddrif Holiday Resort, a private farm resort in the central Cederberg, says dogs and other pets are not allowed. The Saldanha Bay Municipality says the same for Tietiesbaai in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, near Paternoster. Nuwerust in the southern Cederberg and Keurbooms Lagoon Caravan Park on the Garden Route are private, and both say no pets.

If you're planning a Cederberg trip with a dog, that rules out two of the area's best-known camps before you start.

The ones we couldn't confirm

Jamaka Organic Farm and Cederberg Park are private farms in the Cederberg, and Gamkaberg is a small CapeNature camp in the Klein Karoo with a site laid out for rooftop tents and off-road trailers. Driehoek in the Cederberg, the De Hoop Opstal campsite, The Baths at Citrusdal and Gecko Rock near Touws River are in the same position. None of the pages we checked states a pet policy either way.

Private farms set their own rules. Ask before you book, and get the answer in writing.

How to check a campsite yourself

A listing site, ours included, can be out of date, and "pet friendly" on a booking platform can mean anything from "dogs welcome everywhere" to "one small dog in one chalet". Before you book, send the campsite a short message with specific questions:

• Are dogs allowed at the campsites, not only in the chalets?
• Is there a limit on number, size or breed?
• Must dogs be on a leash at all times, and are there areas where they aren't allowed?
• Can a dog be left alone at the campsite?
• Is there an extra fee or a deposit?
• Are there livestock, game or baboons nearby? CapeNature, for example, lists baboons on site at Tweede Tol.

Keep the reply. If the answer on arrival is different from what you were told, you'll want it in writing.

Planning around the rules

If your route includes a national park, plan a dog-friendly stop outside it, or arrange a kennel or sitter at home. Don't try to bring a dog into a park and hope nobody notices: SANParks is clear about the consequences.

When you do find a camp that allows dogs, bring the dog's own water and bowl, a lead, shade, and proof of vaccinations, and keep the dog under control around other campers and wildlife. The full Western Cape list, with each camp's published facts, is on our camping pages.