Scotchmans Run Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Scotchmans Run Reserve Dog Off Leash Area is a large open grass field at 2-12 Estelle Street, Oakleigh, run by the City of Monash. It is the spacious option in this pocket of Melbourne's south-east: an unfenced sportsground oval where dogs get genuine room to run, backed by paved walkways and floodlights that stretch the day past dusk.

The dog setup

The oval is a designated off-leash area, but Monash council's rules still apply: dogs must be under effective voice or hand control at all times, leashed when entering and leaving the reserve, and on-lead within 10 metres of the playground and picnic areas. When organised sport or training is running on the ground, dogs stay on lead and clear of play. Bins are provided for waste. There is no dedicated dog water fountain listed by the council, so bring a bottle and portable bowl. Because the space is unfenced and shared with a soccer pitch and cricket nets, this suits dogs with reliable recall rather than serial wanderers.

Worth knowing

The grass holds up well most of the year but goes muddy after winter rain, so a towel in the car earns its keep in the colder months. Sport use means some afternoons offer less open room than others; check the fixture feel when you arrive and adjust.

Getting there and parking

There is on-site parking off Estelle Street. By public transport it is a moderate walk from Oakleigh or Hughesdale stations, and buses run along Warrigal Road and Atherton Road nearby. Early mornings and weekday middays are the quiet windows, while weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons fill with the sport-and-dog-walker overlap.

Close by with the dogs

Jack Edwards Reserve Dog Off Leash Area is the other Oakleigh off-leash option, and Batesford Reserve Dog Off Leash Area adds another a few suburbs over. For coffee after, Dalgety's Cafe in Oakleigh and Temperance Society in Hughesdale are both local favourites. More ground across the state is catalogued under VIC dog parks, and the area guide for Oakleigh pulls the suburb together.

Max: Big oval, floodlights, and room to actually run. Just keep the recall sharp because there is no fence.