For many years the lake at Banksia Park was empty. But now, the park is restored to its former…read moreglory after strong rains and volunteer work. The park backs on to the Heide property and features walk trails, a cherry blossom garden, a playground and a lake filled with black pacific ducks and waterfowl. The walking track that takes you in a loop and along the Yarra River is a great place to spot local wildlife including parrots and honeyeaters .The soundtrack is the bellbirds that sing in the branches of the trees. Gums, wattles, and other native trees provide beautiful scents and attractive foliage along your walk. This is a leash park, and you are encouraged to clean up after your dog. There are little barbeque areas and a few bins. The open grassy spaces are great for getting a group of friends together on a sunny day, and the nearby playground provides an excellent place to let the kids run around. Banskia Park is perfect on a sunny day with a lot of space to host a barbeque or go for a walk. In the warmer months you may have to watch out for snakes.

I love the dog park at Banksia Park!…read more There are so many other great owners who are super friendly and will talk to you about your dog and other dog-related chats. I love that there is a fence so that all dogs are safe within the vicinity! Additionally, it's not an open space, there are bushes and trees that break up the land so that shyer dogs can get away and have some space to themselves! However, I wish that the grass was cut a bit more frequently and that there was a doggy poo bin with doggy bags. Another difficult issue is that the entrance gate closes at 6pm on the dot when it is not daylight savings - pretty hard for owners to get to the park after work during peak hour traffic. Other than these, it's a great dog park and I love the people and their dogs there!

The Lynwood Parade Reserve is pretty sweet. It has a decent sized playground in the only flat part…read moreof the land and is good for kids up to around age twelve. One thing I find amusing about this reserve is that it allows dogs off lead so long as they remain outside of 15metres from the playground, seating and BBQ areas. I don't know any dog that can understand those rules, nor any owner that can ensure their dog abides once they are off the lead. But, at least dogs are allowed off at all I suppose. The park is quite rustic and the ground is covered in leaves and twigs from the trees. It is also right next to a main road so I would be hesitant in letting any boisterous dogs off their leash here. The risk of the road is truly not worth it and there isn't a decent fence to keep dogs from the road. Otherwise it's a good spot to catch a break and relax if you don't mind the sound of passing cars.

The park next door to 44 Bunnett Road in Knoxfield is one of those places that is always quiet and…read moreavailable. It has a modest playground with two swings and a few springy chairs for little kids. The grass area in this park is flat and generally well taken care of by the council. The main people who come here are dog walkers or people who live in the area nearby. It connects Lakewood Estate with the Bunnett Road and many people pass through to get to the lake within Lakewood. I tend to come here when I want to chuck a ball around or play soccer. There are a couple of trees that are great for goals and as traffic through the park is fairly minimal it is a good place to have a decent kick. There is plenty of shade in the park as well as some good sunny spots. If you are going on the swings or the playground you will want to wear sunscreen or a hat because it gets pretty hot there.

Shhhh best kept secret of Kooyong/Toorak, a great park, albeit it does get bust in sport season…read morecricket/football and baseball with kids sport and little aths but hey parks are for sharing. My Golden Retrievers favourite park, has pooper bags on stands at handy locations, water fountains that have small dog bowls for run off water attached and bins for the you know what. All the dogs are friendly in general good responsible owners, no car dangers and best of all plenty of room and if sport is on try the eastern end to the right of the sports sheds a smaller area that still can offer plenty of K9 fun. Great park benches to watch your dog socialise and flirt with his/her friends and a safe park at the break of dawn.

Lakewood Nature Reserve has only recently developed into its current fleshy state. It has dense…read morebushes and trees and lots of natural grasses. There are little tracks that wind there way through the dense growth and these are quite enjoyable to explore. They are only dirt tracks however so if you are going on a wet day it does get quite muddy. There are also concrete paths that are a lot wider, which connect the reserve with Lakewood Lake. A lot of magpies and native birds live in the reserve and you will definitely see a lot of activity amongst the treetops. There is also a drinking tap supplied. This is useful both for humans and for dogs because there is a smaller at dog height.

The Walker Reserve on Tyner Road is right next door to a children's crèche and shares its carpark…read more It has a big football oval that is fenced off - I couldn't help but wish I had bought my dog so I could run him around on it, however dogs should be kept on their leash at all times. There was a fairly large clubhouse too, which made sense when I saw a sign detailing what sporting clubs operate at the Reserve. The playground here is quite popular with three or four carloads of kids turning up to play on it in the space of only fifteen minutes. I thought this was pretty strange seeing as how the playground is quite small. It does have two swings though and they were in constant demand. There were some batting cages as well - totally cool. I used to practice here when I played softball a few years ago. As long as you have someone to throw a ball for you, you can hit it with a bat as hard as you like and the metal cage will catch it for you - they are awesome. There wasn't really any well-defined walking track, but the grass is short so you can just meander your own way across the Reserve. It was quite nice, but more enjoyable for kids or people coming down to play sport. For the wanderer like me, it was a little bit boring.

Jones reserve is an off leash dog park. There are 2 shades…read morepicnic area with BBQs, a kids playground with cute equipments ( sand, sand play, mushroom seats etc) There's also a big hill towards the end of Jones's reserve that backs on to another park ( soccer ground) . If you walk up this hill you can see the gold top of the church up the road. It's kinda a cool view, almost make you feel that you are somewhere in the Mediterranean. ( just a little) It's also a top spot for chucking ball/ stick down the hill for your pooch to fetch ;) There's a half size basketball ground in the park with one ring, good for a quick play or training . One end of the park has a walkway that is skirted by a small waterway, watch out if walking in this area for snakes . There are signs there, although I have not seen one yet. I think there's enough foot traffic here to keep them away .

Very nice park, good parking, safe environment for children with a fenced in adventure playground…read more One of the best in the eastern suburbs Very nice park, good parking, safe environment for children with a fenced in adventure playground. One of the best in the eastern suburbs

This park has a lot going on. Dog training school, archery lessons, cricket, soccer, BBQs and much…read moremore. It's a great local park with a little river to enjoy the serenity of nature. There is parking available and also a good track to ride your bike or go for a run. It's family orientated, which makes this park very safe. The playground is gated and you can also walk your dogs without a leash. Enjoy your day!