Inner West — off-leash dog exercise areas
Inner West Council provides more than 46 designated off-leash areas. By law, dogs must be on a leash in public places unless you are in a designated off-leash area. Some parks are time-share or exclude organised sport times. Blackmore Park is on-leash only as of 7 August 2026 — use Hawthorne Canal Reserve instead.
Official Inner West dog exercise areas
Dogs are not allowed (on or off leash) inside children’s play areas or within 10 m of them,
within 10 m of food preparation/consumption areas where prohibited, school grounds, child care centres,
and other posted prohibition zones. Clean up after your dog.
Beaches. Inner West’s published list is park/reserve based. Do not assume
harbour foreshores or pools are off-leash — follow signs (e.g. Illoura Reserve has beach/tidal pool
areas with specific rules).
Selected areas (summary — confirm on council page / signs)
| Suburb | Park | Notes (rewritten summary) |
|---|---|---|
| Annandale | Cohen Park | Off-leash except during organised sport/events; not on fenced courts. |
| Annandale | Whites Creek Valley Park | Multiple designated off-leash pockets; pathway parallel to creek on-leash; check updated maps. |
| Balmain | Elkington Park | NW section anytime; remainder timed (roughly evening–morning; DST variants). |
| Balmain | Illoura Reserve | Designated grassed area between playground and Peacock Point anytime; 10 m playground buffer. |
| Camperdown | O'Dea Reserve | Fenced off-leash area anytime. |
| Enmore | Enmore Fenced Dog Park | Fully fenced; on-leash entering/exiting. |
| Leichhardt | Hawthorne Canal Reserve | Popular designated area anytime; Café Bones on site; playground buffer. |
| Lewisham | GreenWay Dog Park | Fenced area with small-dog section. |
| Marrickville | Enmore Park / Marrickville Park / McNeilly Park | Designated pockets; elsewhere on-leash. |
| Newtown | Camperdown Memorial Rest Park | Timed off-leash zone with weekday/weekend differences. |
| Sydenham | Sydenham Green | Fenced area + additional designated corner. |
| Tempe | Tempe Lands | Fenced off-leash areas. Council’s page still describes a temporary Holbeach Avenue site linked to Sydney Gateway works (including older “late 2024” wording that may be stale). Check the current council map and on-site signs for today’s entry point and rules — do not rely on construction timelines. |
Full suburb-by-suburb list with maps: use the official Inner West page (link above). This table is a short preview, not a complete substitute.
Source: innerwest.nsw.gov.au — Dog exercise areas (council page last updated 07 Oct 2026). Last checked 2026-10-27.