Hosken Reserve Dog Off Leash Area(Coburg North)

Hosken Reserve on Shorts Road in Coburg North is a big community reserve with open grass, a walking circuit and a small wetland edge. The draw is space: room for a proper run in the northern suburbs, sitting between Merlynston and Batman stations on the Upfield line.

The dog setup

The open grassed sections double as a Merri-bek off-leash area, but nothing here is fully fenced, so your dog needs reliable voice or hand control the whole time. Dogs stay out of the sporting grounds entirely while organised sport or soccer training is on, and back on lead within 15 metres of the playground and the ground fences. Council also keeps dogs out of local creeks. Part of the old oval is sometimes set up as an enclosed soccer pitch, which changes how much open room is actually free on the day, so walk in and have a look before unclipping. Carry your own bags and clean up.

Pepsi: no full fence and a road nearby means recall first, fetch second. On quiet weekday mornings there is plenty of grass to make it worth it.

Worth knowing

The reserve is set up for lingering: BBQs, picnic tables, shelters and public toilets sit alongside the ovals, and dog water fountains cover hydration. A playground and sandpit make it workable with kids in tow, and the entrance and parking are wheelchair accessible. The soccer pitches are the busiest part, home to a local club, so the off-leash experience swings on the fixture schedule.

Getting there and parking

Access is off Shorts Road with parking near the reserve entrance. By train, the reserve sits roughly midway between Merlynston and Batman stations on the Upfield line, and local buses run along Gaffney Street.

Close by with the dogs

If your dog needs a fence, the Richards Reserve fenced dog park is also in Coburg North, and Edwardes Lake Park up in Reservoir adds a lakeside circuit to the rotation. For a coffee on the way home, Red Bean Coffee Roaster in Preston roasts on site.

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