Sickle Park

Sickle Park is a compact neighbourhood reserve on Sickle Avenue in Hope Island, on the northern Gold Coast, and it doubles as a council designated dog exercise area. The City of Gold Coast Park Finder lists a dedicated fenced off leash zone inside the park, so this is a place where you can genuinely let your dog off the lead rather than just stroll a shared path. The wider park gives you barbecues, picnic areas, shade trees, toilets and a children's playground, which makes it an easy tag along destination for the whole household.

The dog setup

The fenced off leash zone is the drawcard. Council rules are the usual Gold Coast arrangement: dogs may run free only inside the designated zone, they must be back on leash as soon as you step out of it, and they are not permitted around the children's playground at any time. A drinking fountain and water tap sit in the park, so refills are sorted, though bringing a bowl is still smart on busy days. The perimeter path makes a tidy warm up and cool down lap on lead before you open the gate, and the shade plantings give anxious dogs somewhere quiet to decompress if the zone gets busy. The park is open 24 hours, so early morning and evening sessions both work before the midday heat, which matters on the Gold Coast through summer.

One thing worth knowing: the tennis club and its courts sit alongside the park, so expect some noise from serves and coaching sessions. If your dog startles at racket sounds, settle them on the far side of the off leash zone first. Parking is street side on Sickle Avenue, typically right where you want to enter.

Pair it with

Hope Island has more fenced options if you are doing a park crawl. Saltwater Fenced Dog Park is the closest comparable run nearby, and Damian Leeding Memorial Park Fenced Dog Park at Oxenford is a short drive west with water views. When playtime is done, Native Harvest Cafe welcomes dogs nearby for the coffee leg of the morning. For a bigger picture of the area, the Hope Island dog friendly guide pulls the suburb together, and the Queensland off leash parks list covers the rest of the state.