The best pet-friendly parks in Sydney

Mort Bay Park, Birchgrove

Located right next to Thames St wharf, Mort Bay Park is not only a favourite with the local dogs, but it also offers views across the inner harbour to Goat Island and the bridge. There’s a large doggy play area and plenty of walking around the bay before the leash has to go back on again.

Rowland Reserve on Pittwater

Another park with stunning views, Bayview’s Rowland Reserve has long been a favourite. It’s basically a sand spit so there’s not much for you to do except socialise and throw endless frisbees, but your pooch will love the water, sandy banks and mangrove swamps.

Centennial Parklands

Get on your bike, because your pup has 154 hectares of space to run around off-leash in Centennial Park – almost half the available space!

Horses are also welcome and most days you can see riders on the tracks traversing the park or using the 3.5 hectares of fenced equestrian grounds for dressage, lunge or show jumping. If you don’t have anywhere to stable your horse, the equestrian centre offers stabling, schools and veterinarians.

Callan Park, Lilyfield

Once home to Sydney’s insane and now the starting point of the famed Bay Run, Callan Park offers 60 hectares of green expanses, empty ovals, paths and views along White Bay, with much of it designated off-leash.

ELS Hall Park, North Ryde

If you live around Macquarie Park, walk your pup through bushland along the Shrimpton’s Creek shared pathway to ELS Hall Park. There’s a large leash-free area and three fenced ovals to play in – just make sure you clean up afterwards.

Hawthorne Canal Reserve

Finally, for the seriously caffeine-addicted urban dweller, Leichhardt (where else?) offers an off-leash area complete with its own coffee shop. Unlike most, Cafe Bones welcomes pups and will serve them dog biscuits and a ‘puppacino’.

For both you and your pooch to get maximum enjoyment out of a pet-friendly park, it needs to be trained to always come when called, stop what it’s doing (no matter how wonderful that is!) and be sociable.

Check with your local council to find pet-friendly parks in Sydney near you and give your pooch the run of its life.