Dog Friendly Parks In The Inner City
When you have a beloved canine and live in the inner city, finding the best parks quickly becomes a top priority.
Thankfully, Sydney’s inner city is full of green spaces, from sweet little pocket parks to large roaming spaces, which are perfect for pups. There are many off-leash parks in the city and the City of Sydney offers dog obedience classes to help your pup be ready to socialise. Here are some of our favourite places for letting our pooch pals off the leash.
Sydney Park – St Peters
With its 40 hectares of rolling hills, scenic wetlands and meandering trails, this park is paradise for humans and canines alike. The trails are great places for you and your dog to stroll and explore, while the park’s wide open spaces are ideal for a game of fetch and a belly roll in the sunshine. Sydney Park is also a wonderful place to take kiddies, thanks to its excellent playground and café kiosk. However, be sure to keep dogs out of the playground or risk a fine. Note that other areas where dogs are prohibited in the park include the wetlands, the oval, the cycling centre and barbecue areas.
Alexandria Park – Alexandria
This pretty, leafy park, with plenty of park benches and public toilets, is a great place to chuck a frisbee and let the dogs run off leash. Stroll around the oval or chill out under the large shady trees with a book or a picnic. The park also features a multipurpose sports field, two tennis courts, a basketball court and a playground. The areas outside the oval, courts and playgrounds are off-leash areas at all times. Though the park isn’t fenced off, the surrounding streets are relatively quiet and off-street parking can generally be found.
Perry Park – Alexandria
Recent redevelopment of Perry Park has made it the site of a brand new recreation centre with indoor and outdoor courts, change rooms and a kiosk. There’s ample space to take a meander with the canines or let them run off leash while you relax in the sunshine. The park is located at the corner of Maddox Street and Bourke Road, Alexandria, near Green Square train station. There’s also a children’s playground and car parking is available.
Prince Alfred Park – Surry Hills
Prince Alfred Park, on the border of Redfern and Surry Hills, is very popular with inner city dog owners starved of a backyard. They meet here en masse early in the mornings and at sundown to chat and catch up while their pets playfully socialise. There are lots of facilities here, including the aquatic centre, tennis courts and café, but the big attraction for dog lovers is its large central grassy field and woodland areas where the pooches are welcome.
Harry Nobel Reserve – Erskineville
A popular park for dog walking, picnicking and birthday parties that also has a good children’s playground and shaded barbecue area. Most importantly, there’s plenty of space for dogs to run wild off-leash. For the kids, there’s a great fenced playground with slides, ropes climb and sunshades. Be sure to pop across the road to the excellent Bitton Gourmet cafe for a quality coffee to enjoy while your canine companion is playing. Note that dogs are prohibited from the playground.
Camperdown Memorial Park – Newtown
Much beloved by locals, Camperdown Park is particularly popular with local dog lovers. Probably because it’s a perfect place to let your dog off the leash to run free while you meet and chat with other park patrons. On a sunny day, when music is playing and the park is buzzing, it’s hard to say whether the pups or their owners are having the most fun.
Joynton Park - Zetland
A dog park near Green Square so popular that it has its own Facebook page must be worth a visit. Let the dogs run free at Joynton Park in Zetland - and on the first Saturday of the month there’s even a markets held here where your pooches and kids will be entertained while you sit back and enjoy some street food. And it’s only a short walk from dog grooming boutique Dogue, at East Village.
