National Arboretum Canberra

The National Arboretum spreads across the hills west of Canberra: 95 forests of rare and symbolic trees threaded with more than 20 kilometres of walking and cycling track. Dogs are welcome on lead across the whole site, which makes it one of the best long-walk days in the capital for a dog. One catch shapes the packing list before you leave home: there are no bins and no bag dispensers anywhere on the grounds.

The dog setup

The full perimeter loop logs about 11.3 kilometres and rates moderate, close to three hours with hills in it. Most people do not walk the lot, and you do not need to. The Arboretum's own pick for dog walkers is the Explorer Track, 7.2 kilometres return through the southern forests and graded easy, passing forests of trees extinct in the wild alongside habitat and research plantings. Shorter options branch off the Village Centre: the Himalayan Cedar Track is 2.1 kilometres return past the Wide Brown Land sculpture to a picnic deck under century-old cedars, Dairy Farmers Hill Track is 2.3 kilometres return to the Nest III sculpture and its view, and the Cork Oak Trail runs 1.9 kilometres return into a stand of cork oaks nearly a hundred years old. Central Valley Path is 1.5 kilometres one way with gradient and surface that suit prams and assisted wheelchairs, while Mountain View Track, 3.3 kilometres one way, is the one that will make your legs complain.

Leash status

Leads on at all times, across every track and forest. Dogs are not permitted inside any building, including the Village Centre and the Bonsai Collection, or in the Pod Playground, service dogs excepted. Bring your own bags: the ACT Government provides no disposal bins or dispensers here, consistent with its policy across Canberra's urban open space, so plan for a full pocket on the way back to the car.

Water, terrain and hazards

These are shared, multi-purpose tracks, and the traffic mix is unusual. Horses use the unsealed fire trails and cyclists move fast on the wider paths, so keep a dog used to both. The exposed hill sections carry real sun in summer and wind in winter. Water points serve the Village Centre rather than the outer forests, so carry what you need beyond the first hour.

Max: The forests of trees extinct in the wild deserve better than a dog off lead among the seedlings. On track, on lead.

Getting there and parking

The main entrance is off Forest Drive, about ten minutes' drive from Belconnen or the city centre. The Village Centre car park is sealed and close to the shorter tracks, while the outer forest lots such as the Himalayan Cedar Forest are free and rarely fill. The site is not walkable from the suburb itself, so drive.

When to go

Autumn through spring gives the best walking weather on the exposed slopes, and sunset from Dairy Farmers Hill is the classic finish. Summer mornings work if you start early and finish in the shade of the cedar forest.

While you are out there

If the dog needs an off-lead run after all that on-lead discipline, Belconnen Lake Ginninderra Dog Park is fully fenced on the lake shore. Closer still, Mount Painter Nature Reserve adds an on-lead bushwalk in the same pocket of the suburbs. More walks sit in the ACT trails guide, and the suburb itself is on the Cook destinations page.