Glen Street Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Glen Street Reserve is a sporting oval in Aspendale that opens to off-leash dogs in the evenings only, on a flat, open grassed space with genuine room to run. The oval is ringed by an open-frame fence rather than a secure enclosure, and the restricted hours decide whether you can go at all: this is an after-work park, not an all-day one.

The rules

Off-leash access runs from 5pm to 10pm. Outside those hours, and any time organised sport is on regardless of the hour, dogs are not permitted off-leash. City of Kingston conditions apply: keep effective voice or hand control, bring your dog under control within 20 metres of playgrounds or occupied picnic areas, and carry a lead at all times. Rangers patrol the reserves and fines are real, so the 5pm start is a hard start.

What's there

Parking splits between a car park on the northern side by the pavilion and street parking on Glen Street. Waste bins sit near the south-west corner and the northern pavilion. Bring your own water for the dog, as there is no dedicated dog tap to rely on, and note the fence is open-frame, so it keeps balls in but not a determined escape artist.

The vibe

The oval fills quickly after the 5pm opening on fine evenings, with the after-work crowd of active dogs getting a proper run. Mid-week evenings, or earlier in winter when dark comes sooner, are quieter. This suits owners who want a big open sprint space rather than a social fenced yard, and dogs with decent recall who will come back from the far side of an oval.

When to go

Check whether cricket or football training has the ground before you drive over, because sport claims the oval at any hour. If it does, the fenced Iluka Reserve is the nearby fallback, and the beach foreshore offers another option within a short drive.

Close by with the dogs

Iluka Reserve Fenced Dog Park covers the fully-enclosed option in Aspendale, Chelsea Bicentennial Park Dog Off Leash Area adds rolling grass and an obstacle course down the road, and Browns Reserve Dog Off Leash Area is another neighbourhood choice. For a coffee, The Coffee Chief is local. See more off-leash parks in Victoria or what's listed around Aspendale.

Pepsi: one big oval, 5pm sharp, and I run the length of it until my legs give out.