Brandon Park Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Brandon Park Reserve is a large, open off-leash green space at 649-659 Ferntree Gully Road and 14 Tamarisk Avenue, on the Glen Waverley and Wheelers Hill edge. It works as a retarding basin with a flat grassy oval ringed by a sealed walking path, so you get room to run and a clean loop to walk in the same visit.

The dog setup

Under City of Monash rules, dogs run off-lead but must stay under effective voice or hand control, with a lead carried at all times. This is not a fenced park: the reserve borders residential streets and busy Ferntree Gully Road, so recall matters. The rules to hold onto: dogs go on-lead during organised sport, training or school use, and stay 20 metres clear of the playground, BBQ and picnic areas. Dogs must be registered and microchipped, and waste goes in the bins provided.

Worth knowing

Because it is a functioning sportsground, the oval is not always yours: training sessions run on weekday evenings and weekends fill up fast, so weekdays between 10am and 3pm are the calm window. If the oval is busy, the outer paved track makes a good on-lead fallback. It is also a low-lying basin that holds water.

Max: give this one a day or two to drain after heavy rain. The ground turns boggy and holds mud, which is no fun for small dogs or your car mats.

Getting there

Access is via Brandon Park Drive off Ferntree Gully Road, with ample parking by the sports pavilion and along Tamarisk Avenue. Bus route 753 runs along Brandon Park Drive and route 742 stops on Ferntree Gully Road; the nearest train is Glen Waverley with a bus connection. The reserve has sports lighting, a pavilion and bag dispensers, though carry your own water as the dog fountains are not always running.

Close by with the dogs

The Whites Lane retarding basin off-leash area is the same setup a suburb over, and Jells Road Reserve or the Jells Park and Nortons Park loop cover bigger outings. For coffee, Mocha Jos is the closest listing.

More options are on the Victoria dog park guide and the Glen Waverley destination page.