Will Will Rook Dog Off Leash Area

Will Will Rook is a genuinely large unfenced off-leash park in Broadmeadows, running between Johnstone Street, Barry Road and Shankland Boulevard near the historic Will Will Rook Pioneer Cemetery. It is open around the clock, which makes it one of the few local grounds where a pre-dawn or late-evening run is legitimate rather than a rule breach.

The dog setup

The park splits into two off-leash sections joined by a middle strip along Shankland Boulevard where dogs must go back on lead. The ground is open and unenclosed, so it rewards solid recall, and Hume City Council's rules apply throughout: carry a lead of up to two metres, keep your dog under effective voice control, and bag and bin all waste.

Two school-side rules are worth knowing before your first visit. Any part of the off-leash area bordering a school reverts to on-leash from 8am to 5pm on weekdays, and dogs cannot be tied up within 10 metres of a school or preschool entrance. On weekends and outside those hours the full ground is available.

The vibe

Scale is the draw: this is room for long ball throws and proper running, not a suburban pocket park. The trade-off is that there is no fence anywhere, so nervous dogs and dogs still learning recall need a handler paying attention. It is popular with locals from the estates along Shankland Boulevard, and mornings and evenings are the social windows.

Bring your own water, because drinking points are not a given on the ground, and give the sporting fields a wide berth if a cricket or football training session has them.

Getting there and parking

The park sits north of the Broadmeadows town centre, reachable off Barry Road or Johnstone Street with street parking on the bounding roads. The 535 and 536 buses run nearby, and the Upfield line at Broadmeadows station is a short drive rather than a walk.

Close by with the dogs

Seabrook Reserve is the suburb's other big off-leash ground, and the Broadmeadows Valley Park dog area continues the run south along the valley corridor. The Ninth Ave in Westmeadows takes dogs outside for the coffee stop after. More grounds are on our Victoria dog parks page and the Broadmeadows guide.