Kevin Bartlett Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Kevin Bartlett Reserve is a large, flat stretch of parkland running along the Yarra River on F.R. Smith Drive in Burnley, with five major sports fields, a playground and wide open grass. Under Yarra City Council's rules the unfenced sporting grounds double as a 24/7 dog off-leash area whenever they are not booked for organised sport, which makes this one of the biggest open runs close to inner-city Melbourne.

Leash status

The reserve is designated off-leash on the unfenced sporting grounds around the clock, but the ground rules matter. When a fixture or team training session is on, the grounds come back into play and dogs must be leashed within ten metres of any sport in progress. Off-leash dogs need to be in sight at all times and under effective voice or hand control. Up to four dogs per person is allowed. Shared pathways crossing the reserve stay on-leash, and bagging and binning waste is expected, with bins provided but worth backing up with your own bags.

Max: no fences anywhere, and the edges run close to the river and the access roads. On a Saturday morning the field fills with other dogs, so a solid recall is not optional here.

Water and terrain

The terrain is dead-flat mown grass over five fields, easy on stiff hips and good for long fetch sessions. The Yarra River runs directly alongside, but this is not a designated dog swimming spot, so treat the bank as a boundary to manage rather than a swim destination. Shade comes from the perimeter trees rather than the middle of the grounds.

Getting there and parking

Drive in via F.R. Smith Drive off Yarra Boulevard, with ample parking along the drive. On foot it is a ten to fifteen minute walk from Burnley station, and tram route 70 along Swan Street puts you within walking distance. Public toilets and barbecue areas sit in and around the reserve.

When to go

Weekday evenings from five to seven and weekend mornings from nine to eleven are the busiest windows, and weekend sport bookings can quietly shrink the available space. Weekday mornings and late weekends are the quiet runs. This suits confident, well-recalled dogs; small or nervous dogs do better here at off-peak times.

While you're out there

Barkly Gardens Dog Off Leash Area in Richmond is a leafier riverside alternative a few minutes away, and Golden Square Bicentennial Park Dog Off Leash Area is the other Burnley option. For a coffee after, Footlong Dogs on the Swan Street side is handy, and the Gardiners Creek Trail feeds into the Yarra path network for a longer walk.

More options are on the Victoria dog parks guide and the Burnley destination page.