Dog exercise areas

Dog Exercise Areas are fully fenced and are a great place to exercise your dog off its leash, allowing your dog to roam and sniff to its hearts content. Facilities provided may include pond and stream areas, water taps, dog agility courses, disposal bins for dog droppings, car parking and picnic tables. Dog exercise areas allow interaction with other dogs. Dogs that have been well socialised with other dogs from an early age are less likely to fight.

There are five designated Dog Exercise Areas provided by the Christchurch City Council. The conditions that must be observed are:

• Dog faeces must be removed immediately.
• Dogs must be kept under strict control by use of voice, sign or leash.
• Any other conditions will be clearly signposted.

There are areas within the Christchurch City area that have been designated “Restrained Dog Areas” which means you are able to walk through these areas with your dog but it must be kept under control at all times by means of a leash.

There are also areas that have been designated as “Prohibited Dog Areas” and entry to these areas with a dog is strictly prohibited. Some of our regional parks are prohibited dog areas. These areas include Travis Wetland Nature Heritage Park, The Groynes (other than for the purpose of accessing the dog exercise area) and some of the scenic reserves in the Port Hills. The reason for this is to further encourage and protect the wildlife in these areas.

See the animal control pamphlet Prohibited and Restrained Dog Areas for further details

Dog exercise areas are located at:

• The Groynes, Johns Road, Belfast
• Horseshoe Lake Reserve, Horseshoe Lake Road, Shirley
• Radley Park, Cumnor Terrace and Riley Cresent, Woolston
• The Styx Mill Conservation Reserve, Hussey Road, Harewood
• Victoria Park, Victoria Park Road, Cashmere

Bottle Lake Forest Park (situated off Waitikiri Drive, Burwood) is not a designated dog exercise area and is unfenced. It does however offer a large plantation area where owners can run or walk with their dog.

Halswell Quarry Park (situated off Kennedy's Bush Road) has an area where dogs may roam free. This area is not a designated dog exercise area however, and is unfenced. Dog owners should be aware of other park users, and keep their dogs under control at all times.

For further details on access and the facilities at each park see the animal control pamphlet, Dog Exercise Areas.