Wonga Park Reserve Dog Off Leash Area

Wonga Park Reserve is the suburb's main off-leash run: 7.7 hectares off Launders Avenue with full-size ovals, tree-lined paths and a fenced sports ground that dogs can use whenever sport is not on. The bonus locals rate most sits right at the entrance, a dog-friendly cafe at the edge of the reserve.

The dog setup

Manningham Council permits dogs off-lead here under effective voice control, with the usual conditions: on the lead within 15 metres of the playground and barbecue areas, and completely off the ovals while matches, training or organised events are running. Carry a lead and pick up after your dog. The fenced sports oval is the handiest patch for dogs still working on recall whenever it is free, giving you a semi-secure boundary most unfenced parks cannot offer.

Worth knowing

Around the ovals you get a pavilion with public toilets, bins, shaded seating, barbecues and a BMX track. There is no dog-specific water tap, so bring water and a travel bowl, especially in summer when shade over the open grass is limited. Sunday mornings and mid-week evenings are the busy windows thanks to sport, and winter turns the grass muddy, so pack a towel. Early on a weekday you will have the ovals almost to yourself.

Pepsi: big oval, big zoomies, then a pupchino at the gate. Routine of champions.

Getting there and parking

Free on-site parking sits off Launders Avenue, reached from Yarra Road. Bus services along Yarra Road are limited, so most visitors drive. Little Lofty Cafe at 4 Launders Avenue is practically at the gate, with undercover outdoor tables and a pupchino on the menu if you want to end the run on a high note.

Close by with the dogs

For a fully fenced option with agility gear, Kimberley Drive Reserve in Chirnside Park is about ten minutes away. Arthur John Upton Reserve is the suburb's other off-leash space, and Warrandyte River Reserve adds an off-leash stretch beside the Yarra, with Now and Not Yet for coffee in the village.

More options are on the Victoria dog parks guide and the Wonga Park destinations page.