park ✓ Dogs welcome, verified on Google Off-leash

Rathmines Dog Exercise Area

Dog-friendly off-leash park in Rathmines, NSW

5.0 (2) Open in Google Maps

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The rules at a glance

Off-leash allowed

Verified dog-friendly on Google

Open 24 hours

Rathmines, NSW 2283

Rules verified 9 June 2026

Dogs: Welcome
Where: Rathmines, NSW
Policy checked: 2026-06-09

What visitors mention

open space

Rathmines Dog Exercise Area is an unfenced off-leash zone inside Rathmines Park on Stilling Street, built on the site of the old WWII Catalina flying boat base. It is unleashed at all times outside of special events, with wide open grass, lake views, and paved paths threading through the park, making it a genuine run-around spot rather than a small fenced pen.

The rules. Dogs must be under effective control at all times even off-leash. The playground area is off limits to dogs, and anywhere outside the designated exercise area in the wider park is on-leash only. Off-leash access can be suspended during community events or organised sport, and council can issue fines around $330 for dogs off-leash in an on-leash zone, so check signage on the day.

What's there. Toilets, BBQs, and a playground sit within Rathmines Park next to the exercise area, plus around three kilometres of paved walkways looping through the grounds. There is ample parking near the park oval.

Watch-outs. The area is unfenced and borders the lake, so it suits dogs with solid recall rather than escape artists or nervous new arrivals. It is grassy rather than beach frontage, so tide times are not a major factor, though there is water access nearby for dogs that like a paddle.

Max's takegerman shepherd

because it is open on all sides, keep a proper eye on the boundary with the road and the lake edge until you know your dog's recall here.

Getting there. Stilling Street, Rathmines, roughly 30 minutes from Newcastle and about 10 minutes from Toronto. Local buses run through the area; check Transport for NSW for the nearest stop on Fishing Point Road.

Nearby with the dogs. The Watch House Cafe & Pizzeria on Fishing Point Road welcomes dogs in its outdoor area and is an easy walk away for a coffee or pizza after a run. The BBQ and picnic areas in Rathmines Park itself are also a solid low-key alternative if you would rather stay put.

Weekday mornings and late afternoons are the quieter windows; weekends bring a good crowd of regulars. If your dog needs secure fencing rather than an open boundary, this one is better suited to confident, well-recalled dogs.