Lum Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Lum Reserve is the community park on Lum Road in Wheelers Hill that most locals use as their dog's daily run. The off-leash ground is the open grass around the central oval, shared with sport rather than fenced off from it, which makes timing the main skill of the place. Outside of game and training hours there is generous room for fetch and a proper gallop, and a concrete perimeter path takes care of the on-lead laps.

The dog setup

The off-leash area is unfenced: open grass with scattered shade trees ringing the oval, under effective voice control at all times. The oval itself is off limits whenever organised sport is actually running, and the bushland sections, playground, pavilion and tennis courts are on-lead zones. Carry a leash even when the dog does not need it, use the bins provided for waste, and note the City of Monash cap of two dogs per person off lead.

Worth knowing

Beyond the running grass there is a recently upgraded playground for the human kids, cricket nets, a pavilion and bench seating, so it works as a family stop as well as a dog stop. No fence anywhere, so this suits dogs with steady recall; reactive or bolt-prone dogs are better served by an enclosure. The water situation is bring-your-own, and shade is patchy at midday.

Max: Check the oval before you unclip. If cricket or soccer training is running, the sportsground is off limits and everyone shifts to the tree-lined grass on the sides.

Getting there and parking

The reserve sits on Lum Road, Wheelers Hill, reached via Brandon Park Drive or Ferntree Gully Road, and the Wheelers Hill Shopping Centre is close by for supplies. Parking is near the pavilion off Lum Road, and several bus routes run along the surrounding main roads with a stop on Lum Road itself.

Close by with the dogs

For more ground to cover, Jells Road Reserve to the east has extensive trail walking around the lake, and the Glen Waverley Golf Course off-leash area is a simple grassy patch on the Waverley Road end of the suburb. If your dog needs a fence, Springvale Reserve's fenced dog park is a short drive south.

Weekday mornings are the quiet window; afternoons and evenings fill with sports training and weekend mornings bring the social crowd. For more spots across the state browse other VIC parks, and the Wheelers Hill guide covers the suburb.