Hartfield Park Dog Exercise Area

Hartfield Park Dog Exercise Area occupies the Federation Gardens section of Hartfield Park off Hale Road in Forrestfield, and it is a natural, bush-edged exercise zone rather than a manicured park. The drawcard is the pond where dogs can swim, backed by open grass, shade trees and connecting bush tracks.

The dog setup

The exercise area is unfenced: a large, informal space where dogs run under effective control, with a lead carried at all times under City of Kalamunda local laws. Everywhere else in the wider park is on-lead, and dogs are strictly excluded from the active playing fields, playgrounds and car parks, so follow the on-site signage where the zones shift near the ovals.

Worth knowing

The pond is the highlight but also the caution: water quality varies through summer, and stagnant stretches can cause skin irritations or grass rashes in sensitive dogs, so bring drinking water rather than letting your dog rely on the pond. This is genuine bushland, so stay snake-aware in the warmer months and keep to the open ground. Built facilities are minimal at the exercise area itself, though the Hartfield Park Recreation Centre nearby has toilets and parking is spread through the sporting complex.

Pepsi: the pond is the whole point. Bring a towel and expect a very happy, very wet dog on the drive home.

Getting there and parking

The park sits on Hale Road in Forrestfield, reached via Tonkin Highway, with parking distributed around the broader Hartfield Park complex. Transperth buses run along Hale Road, and the site is open around the clock.

When to go

Weekday mornings and mid-afternoons are the calmest windows. It gets lively on weekday evenings between 5pm and 7pm and on weekend mornings from 8am to 10am, which suits social dogs but can overwhelm a nervous one. Best for confident, water-loving dogs with a reliable recall, given the unfenced boundary.

Close by with the dogs

If you need containment, the Hales Fenced Dog Park on Crimson Boulevard has fully fenced large and small dog sections. For a bush walk to extend the day, the Whistlepipe Gully Walk is in the same hills, and up in Kalamunda the Mason and Bird cafe sits beside the trail network.

More options are on the WA dog parks guide and the Forrestfield destination page.