Princes Park Circular

Princes Park Circular is the 3.2 km perimeter track around 39 hectares of open parkland running 1.5 km along Royal Parade in Carlton North. It has been a park since 1873 and it is one of the few inner Melbourne circuits with real off-lead ground attached, though not on the loop itself. The perimeter path is on lead. The off-lead areas are the two designated zones inside it.

The walk. Flat, gravel and asphalt, a clean 3.2 km lap that most people cover in about forty minutes. There are four outdoor exercise stations spaced around the track. The inner gravel line is the one walkers prefer and the outer sealed path carries the cyclists and runners. The northern end has a pond and a sculpture, the eastern boundary has the playgrounds, and Ikon Park and the two Art Deco sporting pavilions from 1938 sit along the Royal Parade side.

The rules. City of Melbourne treats the entire municipality as on lead by default, with off lead permitted only in designated reserves. Princes Park has two of them. Beyond that, the council requires a dog to be leashed within five metres of a shared path, and within twenty metres of a playground or outdoor fitness area, a permanent barbecue or picnic area, a sports field during organised sport or training, and a river, creek or waterbody. On a park this size those twenty metre buffers overlap a lot, and the pond at the northern end is one of them. Even in the off-lead zones you must carry a lead no longer than three metres and keep your dog in sight and under voice control. Neither off-lead area is fully fenced, and Royal Parade is a busy road on one side.

Water. 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.

Hazards. Traffic and bikes rather than terrain. The off-lead zones are unfenced and the southern one sits near Royal Parade. Parts of the northern zone turn muddy after rain.

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

Nearby with the dogs. The two designated zones are Princes Park North and Princes Park South. Curtain Square a few streets east is the fenced alternative if you want walls. The Fat Spatula is the local, and Zagame's House takes dogs.

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. Good for seniors, since it is flat, sealed and never more than a few minutes from a bench.

Sources

• Princes Park | City of Melbourne · www.melbourne.vic.gov.au
• Walking your dog | City of Melbourne · www.melbourne.vic.gov.au
• Princes Park Circular - AllTrails · www.alltrails.com

Compiled from public sources and verified listings. Always confirm current rules with the venue or council before you travel.