Princes Park

Princes Park is a large recreational reserve on Bambra Road in Caulfield South, in Melbourne's south-east, with open oval space, mature trees and paved walking paths. It is well used by local dog owners, with off-leash access on the ovals when no organised sport is on, and it runs a steady roster of junior footy and training on weekends.

The dog setup

Dogs can run off-leash on the oval playing areas, but only when no organised sport or training is under way. On the paved walking paths, within about 10 metres of the playground, and around the barbecue areas, dogs stay on-leash under Glen Eira's rules. Waste bags and bins are provided around the park and clean-up is enforced. There are no fences here, so it suits dogs with decent recall rather than bolters.

Max: check the ovals before you let anyone off-leash. If a match or training session is running, stick to the perimeter paths on-leash instead.

The vibe

This is a neighbourhood sport-and-dogs park rather than a fenced dog park: shaded playground areas, picnic tables, barbecues, public toilets and water stations around the grounds, all wrapped in mature trees. Weekends, especially Sunday mornings, are busiest with junior sport; weekday mornings and mid-afternoons are quieter and better suited to shy or reactive dogs.

Getting there and parking

The park sits on Bambra Road between Glen Huntly Road and Neerim Road. Free street parking is generally available on Bambra Road, Dover Street and Hawthorn Road. The Route 64 tram stops directly alongside the park on Hawthorn Road, and Glen Huntly Station on the Frankston line is around a 15 to 20 minute walk.

Close by with the dogs

If the ovals are booked for sport, the Pawfield Park Fenced Dog Park at Caulfield East is the fully fenced fallback a few minutes north, and the Dendy Park Dog Off Leash Area is a bigger open space to the south. Mr Brightside Cafe is a local stop for the after-park coffee.

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