Mahon Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Mahon Reserve at 44-52 Braeside Avenue, Ringwood North, is a large, mostly unfenced off-leash reserve under Maroondah City Council, built around two open grassy glades with bushland around the edges. It is a walking-and-running reserve rather than a fenced play park, so it suits a dog with reliable recall that wants open ground.

The dog setup

Dogs can be off-leash under effective voice control while in sight, but leads go back on within 15 metres of playgrounds, barbecues, picnic areas and organised sport, and at all times on the shared paved paths. Carry a lead even when your dog is off it. Greyhounds stay leashed at all times, and waste must be picked up and binned. There is no fencing, so treat the bush edges as the boundary.

Worth knowing

The reserve offers two open ovals with mature trees for shade, a formed walking path traversed on-lead, park benches and picnic seats, and waste bins near the entry points. Weekday mid-morning to early afternoon is the quiet window, while weekday mornings, the 5pm to 7pm stretch and weekend mornings are busiest. Good for steady walkers and confident off-leash dogs; less so for a bolter.

Max: open and unfenced with bush at the edges. If recall is not rock-solid, a long lead lets them explore the glades without drifting into the scrub.

Getting there and parking

Turn onto Braeside Avenue off Warrandyte Road, with free parking along the car park on the northern side of the reserve. Bus routes 364 and 370 run along Warrandyte Road, and Ringwood Station is the nearest rail connection via a linking bus or a longer walk.

More runs nearby

If your dog needs a fence, the Parkwood Fenced Dog Park is in the same suburb, and the BJ Hubbard Reserve off-leash area pairs an open oval with quiet bushland tracks. Bean in the Woods covers the coffee afterwards.

More off-leash options are in the Victoria dog parks guide, and the suburb's other entries are on the Ringwood North destination page.