The 10 Best Dog-Friendly Spots on The Sunshine Coast

We asked Endeavour Foundation’s honorary canine ambassador, Michael Douglas Puglas for his hottest tips for pooch-friendly cafes, parks and beaches on the Sunshine Coast.

Best dog-friendly cafes on the Sunshine Coast

Mykies By the Bay

A stone’s throw from Endeavour Foundation’s waterfront Prize Home on Kawana Island, you’ll find Mykies By the Bay, one of the most pro-pup establishments on the Sunshine Coast.

Wes’s Dog Menu at Mykies includes doggyccinos, hand-baked, carob and yoghurt frosted donuts, frosted ‘bone’ cookies and ‘vege tubes’ full off pooch-friendly vegetarian goodness. Nothing but the best for our four-legged friends.

Humans and doggos alike can enjoy the cool breeze and sparkling views of Mykies gorgeous waterfront location on the Mooloolah River.

Mykies is open from 7am to 7pm every day with an extensive menu blending Modern Australian with Mediterranean flavours. It’s a popular spot so book ahead to secure your table. Mykies By the Bay, 5 Grand Parade, Kawana Island, Parrearra.

Twinfins Espresso Bar

With their very own ‘café pooch’, Bella, flying the flag, Twinfins Espresso at Point Cartwright is about as dog-friendly as it gets. Furry friends and their humans come from far and wide to visit the happy Twinfins crew and enjoy great Campos coffee, deliciously healthy house-made treats, açai bowls and their signature bagels.

Twinfins is open seven days a week for 6am till 1pm, so head down early for your morning coffee fix. You’ll find Twinfins Esspresso Bar and Bella at 8 Point Cartwright Drive, Buddina.

The Velo Project

This rustic, Instagram-worthy café is dotted with an endless array of vintage treasures. The owner’s passion for upcycling is matched by their passion for pooches. The Velo Project is one of the few places on the Sunshine Coast where dogs can get their paws on a serve of Hugo’s Doggie ice cream. Yes, it’s a thing. This all-natural frozen doggie treat is Queensland-made on the Gold Coast and the ultimate indulgence for your furry friend. Treat your pup and they will love you more than they already do – if that’s even possible?

Drop into The Velo Project with your four-legged companion when you’re on the Coast at 19 Careela Street, Mooloolaba.

Murrays Café

This café might look chilled but it is serious about serving up delicious food and great coffee to their loyal clientele. Just like their human customers, they welcome their four-legged friends with open arms. This pup-adoring café even has a dedicated dog menu, serving $5 puppy-ccinos including lactose free froth, carob sprinkes and dog cookies on the side. Yum.

For the humans, Murrays serves up fresh baked treats daily including a range of gluten free options plus an all day menu of delicious brekky fare and light meals.

You’ll sniff out Murrays’ great coffee at 78 Sixth Avenue, Maroochydore.

Best dog-friendly parks and beaches on the Sunshine Coast

Warana/Buddina Dog-Friendly Beaches

Directly to the East of Endeavour Foundation’s waterfront Prize Home, this sandy strip would have to be Michael Douglas Puglas’ favourite beach on the Sunshine Coast. This huge stretch of spectacular surf beach is the shared domain of doggos and humans alike. Accessed off Oceanic Drive along the Warana and Buddina waterfront, the dog-friendly portion of the beach stretches from Beach Access Point 226 to 247.

When you’ve had enough of the beach you can head back up through the dunes to John Hotton Park to cook up a snag or two on the free barbeques and enjoy the playground with your human kids. Take note though that this area is not an off-leash zone so make sure your pup is on a lead in the park.

Further north toward Point Arkwright there’s another beautiful stretch of pro-pooch beach. To find it, park along Pacific Boulevard in Buddina and take your furry friend down any of the tracks from Access Point 210 to 217.

Buddina Off-Leash Dog Park

Just when the day is thinking about drawing to an end, this park comes alive for our active four-legged friends. This after-hours dog park in Point Cartwright Reserve allows pooches to run free between the hours of 4pm and 8am.

Stretching across the grassy hill on the point, the Buddina Off-Leash Park looks out across the ocean and right up and down the Coast, earning it the award for ‘best dog park with a view’.

Where better to enjoy a sunset picnic while your fur baby squeezes in some exercise before a bit of well-earned R&R.

Buderim Dog Park

This large, fenced park in Elizabeth Daniels Park is a popular spot for local pooches to meet, mingle and get their 30 minutes a day. The park has an undercover gazebo with seating so the humans have somewhere to relax while the pups get active.

In case of little accidents, bags are usually provided but it’s generally a good idea for owners to bring their own.

Buderim Dog Park is open during daylight hours and like all Sunshine Coast dog parks, it’s free of charge.

Coochin Park Dog Off-Leash Reserve

For Caloundra locals and visiting holiday-makers, this huge reserve is a doggy paradise with a large grassed area and plenty of shade from the native paperbarks. But if your pooch is a flight risk, this may not be the park for you as there are no fences to contain your four-legged friend. For well-behaved doggos like yours truly, this park spells ‘FREEEEDOM’.

You’ll find the Coochin Park Dog Off-Leash Reserve on the corner of Beerburrum and Cooroy Streets, Dicky Beach.

Stumers Creek and Coolum Beach

At the northern end of Coolum village, Stumers Creek meets the surf beach creating a natural playground that’s a magnet for not only dogs, but also humans big and small.

The off-leash area includes a good stretch of beach as well as the sandy creek mouth. It’s a great place to have a splash and have fun with other pooches but good off-leash manners are needed in this popular spot to ensure that everyone on the beach has fun.

The extensive off-leash beach area begins just north of the Coolum Beach Holiday Park and goes all the way to Stumers Creek and then one kilometre further north toward Peregian Beach.

You can join the beach at any spot along that stretch or head straight to the Stumers Creek Road carpark off David Low Way.

Doggy Beach, Noosa Heads

Forget Hastings Street. Noosa’s beautiful Doggy Beach is where it’s at with pooches coming from far and wide to swim and play in paradise. This gorgeous spot found off the Noosa spit, technically opens onto the Noosa River, but the turquoise water and sandy shores makes it feel like a protected seaside bay. With views across the sparkling water to the mountains beyond, and an endless source of sticks for fetching, this place is about as good as it gets.

To get there, head along Hastings Street through the shopping strip and into Noosa Woods. The best carpark for Doggy Beach is the second main carpark along Claude Batten Drive. The spit area and Hastings street get super-busy in Summer, so come early to beat the crowds and snag a park.

More Sunshine Coast Off-leash beaches include:

• Currimundi Beach (Beach access 249 – 253 and 255 to 262)
• Moffat Beach allows off-leash play from 4pm to 8am (Beach access point 270 to 276)
• Sunshine Beach North (Beach access point 27)
• Sunshine Beach South (Beach access point 37)
• Wurtulla Beach (Beach Access 226 to 247)

Win your waterfront dream home in doggy paradise

Endeavour Foundation’s $1.3 million waterfront Prize Home on Kawana Islandcould be the perfect forever home for you, your family, and most importantly your pup. With vast stretches of dog-friendly surf beach just five minutes away and a host of local pro-pooch cafes to explore, this home is paradise for humans and doggos alike. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, imagine leaning out the side of your brand-new boat and feeling the wind on your face as you cruise out onto the open water. Now that’s a dog’s life.

For a taste of living in paradise, take a virtual tour now. Or if you’re already sold, buy your tickets today.

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