Monterey Community Park Dog Off Leash Area

The off-leash area at Monterey Community Park is a large, open, grassed patch inside a bigger multi-use reserve that also carries a skate park, playground and sports fields. That mix is the point: this is a family-and-dog park rather than a specialist dog run, and it works well for households where kids and dogs both need burning off on the same trip.

The dog setup

Off-leash play happens in the designated open grass area. There is no fencing around it, so this suits dogs with reliable recall who can hold their own around an open, shared space. The rules that matter: dogs stay out of the playground and on lead within 10 metres of it, owners keep dogs under effective voice or hand control at all times, and waste goes in the bins promptly. Facilities in the wider reserve include public toilets, picnic tables, an undercover shelter and wheelchair-accessible entry, though shade on the open grass is thin on hot days.

Pepsi: the rare park where the kids on the skate ramp and the dog on the grass are both tired on the drive home.

Getting there and parking

Access is via Lehmann Crescent in Frankston North, near Monterey Secondary College, with on-site parking available off the crescent. Buses run nearby, but if you are bringing a dog the on-site car park is the easier option. On-site parking also keeps the walk to the off-leash grass short, which matters with an excited dog on a lead.

When to go

Weekday early mornings and mid-afternoons are the quietest windows. Weekends and weekday mornings get busier with locals and school traffic. The park is largely unshaded, so carry water and watch for heat through summer.

Make a day of it

Centenary Park and Telopea Reserve give you fenced and off-leash alternatives in Frankston North, and the Milkwort, Panorama, Hakea Ridge and Sword Sedge track loop adds an on-lead bushwalk option nearby. More runs are listed on the VIC dog parks guide and the Frankston North destination page.