Rosebud Beach Dog Off Leash Area

The Rosebud Beach Dog Off Leash Area sits on the Port Phillip Bay foreshore where Point Nepean Road meets Beverley Road in McCrae, on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula. It is calm, shallow bay water backed by the Bay Trail, and the seasonal clock is the thing to understand before you unclip.

Leash status

From 1 December to the end of February, dogs are banned from the beach between 10am and 6pm and allowed off lead from 6pm to 10am the next morning. From March through November the designated stretch is leash free at all hours. Off lead means under effective control regardless, and you need a lead on hand for getting to and from the sand. The allowance covers the beach only: the Bay Trail behind it is on lead at all times, and the vegetated parts of the foreshore reserve are off limits to dogs entirely.

Water and setup

The beach is the forgiving kind: flat, shallow and clear over sand, with wooden groynes breaking the stretch every hundred metres or so. Facilities at the Beverley Road access include a water tap and toilets, which is more than most dog beaches manage. Bins sit at the access points and bags are your responsibility, so carry spares.

Pepsi: in summer the 10am to 6pm ban is the whole game here. Set your watch by it, because the evening session from 6pm is when the water is at its best anyway.

Getting there and parking

It is about a 75 minute drive from Melbourne down the M11 Mornington Peninsula Freeway, exiting toward Rosebud on Point Nepean Road. Foreshore parking sits behind the beach near the Beverley Road access, and the Bay Trail lets you walk in from either McCrae or Rosebud if you are staying along the strip. A lighthouse-themed playground sits opposite the access and the Rosebud and McCrae surf club is just behind.

Close by with the dogs

Keep the run varied with Benbenjie Reserve in McCrae or the fenced Lawson Park in Rosebud, then dry off at Waterfall Gully Cafe or Zarb and Ru on the Point Nepean Road strip. Further along the bay, the Rye Beach Dog Off Leash Area works the same way.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly beaches guide and the McCrae destination page.