Off-Leash Dog Parks in Calgary: Rules and Where to Go

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Every rule below links to the City of Calgary, Alberta government or Calgary Transit page or bylaw it comes from. Off-leash areas are marked by signs, and where the City’s list and a posted sign differ, the City says the sign is correct (City of Calgary, Dog off-leash areas). So read the signs when you arrive.

The short answers

• Where can my dog be off the leash? Only in a signed off-leash area. The City calls Calgary an “on-leash city”: everywhere else except your own property, your dog must be on a leash (Dog leash guidelines). There are 160 public off-leash areas covering 1,145 hectares, which the City counts among the largest off-leash networks in North America, by number and by space (Dog off-leash areas). Find them on the City’s list or interactive map.
• How long can the leash be? No longer than 2 metres on pathways, including pathways through an off-leash area (§ 13(4) of the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, “the pet bylaw” below). The City’s parks summary says 2 metres for parks too, so a 2 metre leash keeps you right everywhere.
• What are the fines? A dog off the leash outside an off-leash area is “running at large”: $150, or $75 if you pay within 15 days, plus $100 if your dog isn’t spayed or neutered (pet bylaw, Schedule C and § 82). Not picking up poop: $500 ($300 if paid within 15 days). A dog in a no-dog area: $100 ($50) (City penalty guide). In a park, the Parks bylaw has its own fine for a dog off the leash: $100 (Parks bylaw, § 15).
• Does my dog need a licence? Yes, from 3 months old: $45 a year in 2026 if spayed or neutered, $71 if not (City of Calgary, Pet licences). An unlicensed dog: $250 ($100 if paid within 15 days).
• Can my dog ride the bus or CTrain? Yes, free, on a leash. Other animals ride free in a carrier or cage (Calgary Transit, Fares).

The rules in every off-leash area

From the City’s Dog off-leash areas page and the pet bylaw:

• Keep your dog under control: in sight, and responding to your sight or sound commands (Bylaws related to dogs; § 11). Fine: $100.
• Paved pathways stay on-leash, even inside an off-leash area. Keep right, and don’t let your dog stop on the path or get in anyone’s way (§ 13(4) and (5)).
• Parking lots are on-leash, including at off-leash areas.
• Pick up the poop, everywhere, and carry bags, the City says.
• Six dogs at most off the leash per person, unless you hold a dog walker permit (§ 11(7)).
• If your dog bites, chases or threatens, leash it (2 metres at most) and leave the off-leash area straight away (§ 11(8)).
• If your dog bites a person or another dog, give your name and your dog’s licence number to the other person, or report it to 311, within 24 hours (§ 24). Fine: $500.
• A peace officer can tell you to leash your dog or leave; refusing costs $500. A dog repeatedly out of control can be declared a nuisance animal and banned from off-leash areas (§ 44, § 47, § 69).
• Dogs only, and a dog declared vicious may not go in at all (§ 11(4) and § 12).
• Hours: parks are open 5 am to 11 pm unless posted, pathways 24 hours (§ 6 of the Parks and Pathways Bylaw, “the Parks bylaw” below).

Every City off-leash area is in a multi-use park. The City runs no dog-only parks; a dog club, the Calgary Associated Dog Fanciers, runs one on a leased site near Elliston Park (off-leash locations; Off-leash FAQs).

Where dogs can’t go

• No dogs on school grounds, playgrounds, sports fields, golf courses, cemeteries, or wading and swimming areas (§ 13(1)). The City says to stay 5 metres away from them too, sign or no sign (Dog off-leash areas). Fine: $100.
• Natural environment parks are on-leash everywhere, paved pathways included, unless a sign says otherwise (Dog off-leash areas).
• Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Inglewood Wildlands: no dogs (Dog off-leash areas), except assistance dogs in the sanctuary (Inglewood Bird Sanctuary).
• Weaselhead and Griffith Woods: dogs stay on the pathways and trails. The bylaw allows the same rule for a designated part of Nose Hill Park (§ 13(3)).
• Rivers, lakes and ponds: don’t let your dog into one in or next to a park, except at a site the City has designated (Parks bylaw, § 12(3)). Fine: $100. We couldn’t find a City list of those sites, so look for a sign first.
• Glenmore Reservoir: no animals in the water or on the ice, ever (§ 14). Fine: $350. Glenmore Park can’t have off-leash areas (Parks bylaw, § 15(3)).
• Prince’s Island Park is on-leash, with no dogs at all, bridges included, on Canada Day, 1 July, and Heritage Day, the first Monday in August (§ 13(6); Prince’s Island Park).
• Fish Creek Provincial Park is run by Alberta Parks: a leash of 2 metres or shorter at all times, and no pets in the Sikome Aquatic Facility or public buildings (Alberta Parks, Fish Creek rules). Pet fines there run from $120 to $2,000 (Fish Creek wildlife tips).
• No cycling, scooting or skating with a leashed dog on a pathway, except on a device for people with disabilities (§ 15).

Where to go

Well-known off-leash areas, with what the City says about each:

• Nose Hill Park (NW, 6465 14 St NW): a 1,129 hectare natural environment park with deer and coyotes. Only the area outlined on the City’s Nose Hill map is off-leash.
• Sue Higgins Park (SE, Southland Dr and Deerfoot Tr SE): formerly Southland Park, on the Bow River, with Calgary’s largest fenced off-leash area. Washrooms.
• River Park (SW, 1504 50 Ave SW): a large off-leash area on the ridge above Sandy Beach, with a dog water fountain. The City’s map shows two smaller areas nearby, at Sandy Beach and in Britannia.
• Bowmont Park (NW, 85 St and 48 Ave NW): 164 hectares on the north bank of the Bow, with off-leash areas, one fenced. It has playgrounds and sports fields too, so mind the 5 metre rule.
• Edworthy Park (SW, 5050 Spruce Dr SW): two off-leash areas, by Spruce Drive and at Lawrey Gardens. Water main construction may delay access to the parking lots, and the washrooms are closed until 9 November 2026, with portable toilets on site, the City says.
• Connaught Park (Beltline, 11 St and 14 Ave SW): a fenced off-leash area with its own space for small dogs. The City’s 2016 map also shows a drinking fountain.

Other fenced areas on the City’s list: Falconridge and Taradale (NE), Mount Pleasant (NW) and Auburn Bay (SE).

Walking more than six dogs

Anyone may have up to six dogs off the leash in an off-leash area (§ 11(7)). For more than six, you need a free professional dog walker permit, which asks for a dog business licence, a year’s dog-walking experience or relevant training (City of Calgary, Permits). Permit holders carry enough leashes and bags for every dog, and the dogs off the leash must have good recall and wear their licence tags. The City can cap how many dogs a permit covers (§ 11.1). The six-dog limit is for dogs off the leash: the City says it made no change to how many one person may walk on a leash (Updates to the bylaw).

Wildlife and weather

• Coyotes live all over Calgary. If coyotes are around, leash your dog, even in an off-leash area, and keep the leash short. Pick up poop: it attracts them. If one comes at you, don’t run: shout, wave your arms, keep eye contact and back away slowly. Report sightings to 311 (City of Calgary, Urban coyotes). They have, on a few occasions, killed pets (Dog off-leash areas).
• Other wildlife: it’s illegal for dogs to harass wildlife in parks, barking included, so leash your dog as soon as you see a wild animal (Dog off-leash areas). Keep it away from porcupines: quills are painful and costly to remove. In an emergency with immediate danger, call 911 (Urban coyotes).
• Ice: keep off ice on rivers and storm ponds. If your dog falls through, call 911 and don’t go in after it (Calgary Fire Department).
• Foxtail barley: in the fall this native grass drops sharp seeds (awns) that stick in fur, paws, mouths, eyes and noses. Check ears, skin folds, paws and mouth after walks and pull awns out with tweezers. If your dog sneezes, shakes its head, scratches, rubs or chews right after a walk, the City says to see a vet straight away (Foxtail barley).
• Ticks in Alberta are most active in spring, summer and fall, and can be active whenever it’s above 4°C. The province rates the risk of a person getting Lyme disease from a tick bite in Alberta as very low. Worried about a bite on your dog? Call your vet, and ask about tick prevention. You can also send a photo of the tick to the province’s Submit-a-Tick program through eTick (Government of Alberta). See how to check your dog for ticks.
• Cold: in extreme cold, shorten walks to protect against frostbite and hypothermia, and put a coat on a short-haired or small dog. De-icing salt and chemicals can hurt paws: use boots, or wipe the paws with a damp cloth after walks (City of Calgary, Jan 2024).
• Cars: never leave a dog in a parked car in extreme heat or cold (it breaks the pet bylaw, § 16(4)). For summer, see heatstroke in dogs.
• Puppies: wait until your vet says the vaccine course is done before busy off-leash areas; see bringing home a puppy.

What to bring

• A leash no longer than 2 metres, and plenty of poop bags.
• Your dog’s licence tag: it must wear it off your property, unless a visible tattoo or microchip identifies it and you (§ 8).
• Water. Of the parks above, only River Park’s page and Connaught’s map show a fountain.
• Tweezers, for foxtail awns, and a loud whistle in coyote areas, as the City suggests.

For manners once you’re in, see dog park etiquette. In Toronto, see off-leash dog parks in Toronto. Know a good Calgary spot we missed? Tell us.

Dog parks in other Canadian cities: Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, Ottawa, Vancouver and Edmonton.

FAQs

Is Nose Hill Park off-leash? Partly. Only the area on the City’s Nose Hill map, marked by signs, is off-leash; the rest of the park and its pathways are on-leash (pet bylaw, § 11(3) and § 13(4)). The map dates from 2010, so go by the signs.

How much is a dog licence in Calgary? In 2026, $45 a year for a spayed or neutered dog, $71 if not, and $45 for a dog under 6 months that isn’t spayed or neutered yet. If a licensed dog gets lost, City peace officers can drive it straight home (Pet licences; City of Calgary, Jan 2024).

Can my dog swim in the Bow or Elbow River? Only at a site the City has designated. We couldn’t find a City list of those sites, so keep your dog out of the water unless a City sign there says it may go in. Anywhere else, the Parks bylaw bans letting a dog into a river, lake or pond in or next to a park (§ 12(3)). The Glenmore Reservoir is closed to animals all year, water and ice (pet bylaw, § 14).

What if my dog runs off? Call 311 to file a lost animal report, and check the City’s impounded animals (Lost cats and dogs). Then report the lost or found dog free on FurFam: your report gets its own page to share.