Princes Park Circular

Princes Park Circular is the 3.2 km perimeter loop around 39 hectares of parkland that runs 1.5 km along Royal Parade in Carlton North. The park has been there since 1873, and it is one of the few inner Melbourne circuits with genuine off-lead ground attached, though not on the loop itself: the perimeter path is on lead, and the off-lead walking happens in the two designated zones inside it. For an inner-suburb dog this combination of a proper walk and a legal free run is hard to beat.

Leash status

City of Melbourne treats the whole municipality as on lead by default, with off lead permitted only in designated reserves, and Princes Park has exactly two of them: one at the northern end near Bowen Crescent and one toward Crawford Oval in the south. Everywhere else the council requires a lead within five metres of a shared path, and within twenty metres of a playground, a permanent barbecue or picnic area, a sports field during organised sport, or the pond at the northern end. On a park this size those buffers overlap a lot. Even inside the off-lead zones you must carry a lead of three metres or less and keep the dog in sight and under voice control, and neither zone is fenced.

The walk

Flat gravel and asphalt, a clean 3.2 km lap that takes about forty minutes, with distance markers every 500 metres. There is a dual path system: the inner compacted gravel line is the one walkers prefer, and the outer sealed path carries the cyclists and runners, so keep the dog off the racing line. Four outdoor exercise stations sit around the track. The northern end has the pond and a sculpture, the playgrounds line the eastern boundary, and Ikon Park with its two Art Deco sporting pavilions from 1938 fronts the Royal Parade side.

Max: Match days at Ikon Park change the whole park. The crowd, the noise and the organised-sport buffer all arrive together, so check the fixture before you plan an off-lead morning.

Water and terrain

Drinking fountains are spread around the park and there are three public toilets. Barbecues and picnic facilities sit near the playground on Princes Park Drive, which is also where the twenty metre lead rule bites hardest. The main hazards are traffic and bikes rather than terrain: the off-lead zones are unfenced and the southern one sits close to Royal Parade, and parts of the northern zone turn muddy after rain.

Getting there and parking

Tram 19 or bus 505 along Royal Parade drops you at the park edge, and Royal Park station on the Upfield line is a short walk west. Street parking on Royal Parade and Princes Park Drive is ticketed on weekdays and generally free on the surrounding residential streets at weekends, but read the signs because the zones vary block by block.

Close by with the dogs

The two off-lead areas have their own listings: Princes Park North and Princes Park South. Curtain Square, a few streets east, is the fenced alternative if your dog needs walls. The Fat Spatula is the local pub stop, and Zagame's House takes dogs if you are turning the walk into a weekend.

When to go

Early on a weekday, or Sunday evening when the park empties out. Weekend mornings between ten and midday are the busiest window on the path. Because the loop is flat, sealed or firm gravel and never more than a few minutes from a bench, it is one of the better inner-city walks for senior dogs.

More circuits like this are in our VIC trails guide, and the Carlton North page lists the rest of the dog-friendly options nearby.