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You are here: Home > Looking after our parks > Pets in parks

Pets in parks

National parks and reserves are refuges for native animals. Dogs and other domestic pets (other than trained assistance animals such as guide dogs) must not be taken into national parks, state conservation areas, nature reserves, historic sites or Aboriginal areas, because:

• Native animals see dogs as predators. The lasting scent left by dogs can easily scare small animals and birds away from their homes, often causing them to leave their young unprotected.
• Dog faeces carry diseases which can be harmful to wildlife and people, and also add nutrients to the soil, increasing the spread of weeds.
• If dogs and other domestic pets have frightened native animals away from popular visitor areas, there will be no wildlife for other visitors to see.
• Dogs can interfere with the enjoyment of other park visitors.

However, you can walk your dog in some regional parks. These large, open spaces in urban areas are managed by the NPWS to give city residents recreational opportunities in pleasant, natural surroundings.

You'll find details about dog walking in each of our regional parks below. Please remember to bring a plastic bag to clean up after your dog.

Name of park	Dog walking in this park
Berowra Valley Regional Park	You can walk your dog in the park's designated dog walking areas, provided it is on a leash at all times. The designated areas are: Bellamy Fire Trail between Bellamy Street and De Saxe Close, Thornleigh Daphne Fire Trail between Tuscan Way (at the end of Daphne Close) and Patricia Place, Cherrybrook Clarinda Fire Trail between Clarinda Street and Simon Place, Hornsby. Dogs are not permitted anywhere else in the park, including Crosslands Reserve.
Coffs Coast Regional Park	You can walk your dog in many areas of the regional park, provided it is on a leash and under the effective control of a competent person. You can also exercise your dog, unrestrained, in the following leash-free areas: Hearns Lake Beach (Woolgoolga) Darkum Beach (Woolgoolga North) Corindi/Pipe Clay Beach (Arrawarra North) Emerald Beach, north of Fiddamans Creek and south of Diggers Head Woolgoolga Back Beach. Dogs are not permitted in the following areas: Diggers Beach (Coffs Harbour) Emerald Beach, south of Fiddamans Creek Sandy Beach Woolgoolga Beach (Woolgoolga) around children's play apparatus around public food preparation areas in wildlife protection areas.
Leacock Regional Park	Dogs are permitted in the regional park, provided they are kept on a leash at all times.
Rouse Hill Regional Park	Dogs are permitted in the regional park, provided they are kept on a leash at all times.
Western Sydney Regional Park	Dogs are permitted in the regional park, provided they are kept on a leash at all times.
William Howe Regional Park	Dogs are permitted in the regional park, provided they are kept on a leash at all times.
Wolli Creek Regional Park	Dogs are permitted in the regional park, provided they are kept on a leash at all times.