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

Last checked: 21 October 2026. Every rule below links to the City of Toronto page or bylaw it comes from. Each off-leash area also has its own posted conditions, and the Parks bylaw says to follow them, so read the signs when you arrive.

The short answers

• Where can my dog be off the leash? Only in one of the City’s designated dogs off-leash areas (OLAs; the Animals bylaw calls them leash-free areas). The City’s Dogs Off-Leash Areas list shows each one with its hours, fence and surface. Everywhere else in public, including parks, school yards, beaches, sidewalks and roads, your dog must be on a leash (City of Toronto, Responsible Dog Ownership).
• How long can the leash be? No longer than 2 metres, attached to a collar or harness, anywhere off your own property except inside an off-leash area (Animals bylaw, § 349-12.1). The Parks bylaw sets its own limit of 2.4 metres for a leash or chain in parks (Parks bylaw, § 608-34C), but the 2 metre rule applies in parks too, so a 2 metre leash keeps you within both. Tying your dog to a pole or bike rack isn’t allowed (Responsible Dog Ownership).
• What’s the fine? Up to $615 for letting your dog run off the leash outside an off-leash area: a $500 fine, a $110 victim surcharge and a $5 administration fee (City of Toronto, Dogs Off-Leash). Not picking up after your dog can cost $400 (Responsible Dog Ownership).
• Does my dog need a licence? Yes. Dogs in off-leash areas must be licensed and vaccinated (Dogs Off-Leash), and every dog in Toronto needs a licence anyway: $25 a year if spayed or neutered, $60 if not. See the dog licence in Toronto.
• Can dogs go on Toronto’s beaches? Not on the supervised swimming beaches, except from 1 November to 31 March. In that winter window, dogs may run off the leash below the snow fence line at Woodbine and Kew-Balmy beaches (Parks bylaw, § 608-34). More on the beaches below.

The City’s rules in every off-leash area

From the City’s Dogs Off-Leash and Dogs Off-Leash Areas pages, and the Parks bylaw (§ 608-34):

• Your dog must be licensed and vaccinated.
• These dogs may not go in: dogs that are aggressive with a history of biting, pit bulls as defined by Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act, female dogs in heat, and any dog with a Dangerous Dog Order from the City. A dog that has to wear a muzzle or stay on a leash under a City notice or an order under that Act may not go in either.
• No dog training and no electronic devices.
• Stay with your dog. Keep it in sight and under your control, and never leave it alone in the area.
• Stoop and scoop. Bag the poop and put it in the Green Bin (every off-leash area in a park has one), in the garbage, or take it home.
• Fill in any holes your dog digs.
• Follow the signs and boundaries of each area. Some bar commercial dog walkers or limit their hours.
• Small dog areas are for dogs up to 20 lb and 12 inches at the shoulder.

Hours: City parks are closed from 12:01 am to 5:30 am (Parks bylaw, § 608-9), and many off-leash areas keep shorter hours. Some open only at the ends of the day: in summer, Vermont Square Park’s area is open only 6 to 9 am and 8 to 11 pm (Dogs Off-Leash Areas list). Check the list for the one you use.

Outside the off-leash areas, even on a leash, dogs may not go into playgrounds, splash pads, wading pools, sports fields, tennis courts, rinks, toboggan hills or ornamental gardens in any City park, or anywhere posted to keep dogs out (Parks bylaw, § 608-1 and § 608-34).

Where to go

These are well-known off-leash areas, with what the City’s list says about each. Each name links to our page for it, with the sources and a map.

• High Park: park hours. Fenced. Two areas: by Colborne Lodge Drive and by Allotment Lane.
• Trinity Bellwoods: 6 am to midnight. No fence: the sunken “Dog Bowl”.
• Cherry Beach: 6 am to midnight. Fenced, one of the largest, by the lake.
• Withrow Park: park hours. Fenced, with a dog fountain.
• Sunnybrook Park: 6 am to 11 pm. Fenced and lit, with a small dog area.
• Coronation Park: 7 am to 11 pm. Fenced and lit. Commercial dog walkers: weekdays, 10 am to 2 pm only.

Two more worth knowing, from the same list: Riverdale Park West (375 Sumach St) has the largest area on the list, about 45,000 square metres of unfenced grass, open in park hours. Kew Gardens (2075 Queen St E) has a fenced area with a small dog area, but the park is being improved, so check its page before you go.

The full list, with a map, is on the City’s Dogs Off-Leash Areas page, which asks you to report maintenance problems to 311.

Beaches and the islands

• Swimming beaches: no dogs except from 1 November to 31 March (Parks bylaw, § 608-34). The City’s supervised swimming beaches are Bluffer’s, Centre Island, Cherry/Clarke, Gibraltar Point, Hanlan’s Point, Kew-Balmy, Marie Curtis Park East, Sunnyside, Ward’s Island and Woodbine (City of Toronto, Beaches).
• Woodbine and Kew-Balmy beaches: from 1 November to 31 March, dogs may run off the leash below the snow fence line (§ 608-34). See Woodbine Beach for the nearest off-leash areas the rest of the year.
• Cherry Beach: the off-leash area is next to the swimming beach, so your dog has somewhere to run all year.
• Toronto Island: dogs can ride the ferry on a leash, but the City’s list has no off-leash area on the islands. See Toronto Island Park.

Walking more than three dogs

Without a commercial dog walker permit, no one may walk more than three dogs, in a park or anywhere else in the City. With a permit, you can have up to six in a park, with the permit on show and every dog wearing its City licence tag (Animals bylaw, § 349-12.1; Parks bylaw, § 608-34.1). Some off-leash areas don’t allow commercial dog walkers, and some only at set hours (Dogs Off-Leash Areas list).

What to bring

• A leash no longer than 2 metres, even if you plan to let your dog off it.
• Poop bags, more than you think you need.
• Your dog’s licence tag on its collar: the bylaw says to keep it on at all times (Animals bylaw, § 349-11).
• Its rabies certificate, or a photo of it. Ontario law requires dogs over three months to be vaccinated against rabies, and dog parents to keep a copy of the vet’s certificate (Toronto Public Health).
• Water, unless your area has a dog fountain (the City’s list says which do).

Puppies: wait until your vet says the vaccine course is done before taking your puppy to busy dog parks; see bringing home a puppy. Ticks: blacklegged ticks spread Lyme disease in Canada, so check your dog after walks through long grass and woods, see how to check your dog for ticks, and ask your vet about tick prevention. Coyotes: if you see one, the City says to pick up a small dog, keep a larger one leashed at your side, and back away slowly without turning your back (Responsible Dog Ownership).

Off-leash manners

1. Not every dog likes being rushed at. Play is fine while both dogs are relaxed and having fun (Dogs Off-Leash).
2. Practise recall. Make sure your dog comes when called, so you can call it out of trouble, then let it go back to play (Dogs Off-Leash).
3. Play with your own dog, not just watch it. The City’s rules of the run: “Off-leash doesn’t mean unattended” (Dogs Off-Leash Areas).
4. Watch children. Many dogs aren’t used to young children, so the City asks parents to supervise children closely and keep them from playing with other people’s dogs (Dogs Off-Leash Areas).
5. Keep a female in heat out. She must stay on a leash in parks and may not enter an off-leash area (§ 608-34).
6. Ask before your dog greets a dog on a leash. It may be on a leash for a reason.

If your dog bites or attacks a person or another animal, it may be declared a dangerous dog and given a muzzle order, and you are responsible for any injury or damage (Dogs Off-Leash). Stay, swap numbers, and make sure the other dog or person gets seen to.

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

FAQs

Can I let my dog off the leash in an empty park early in the morning? No. Off the leash is allowed only in a posted off-leash area, whatever the time, and the fine is up to $615 (Dogs Off-Leash).

Are pit bulls allowed in Toronto’s off-leash areas? No. Pit bulls are banned in Ontario under provincial law, which the City enforces, and pit bulls as defined by the Dog Owners’ Liability Act may not use off-leash areas (Responsible Dog Ownership; Dogs Off-Leash).

Can my dog be off the leash on a ravine trail? No. Off the leash is allowed only in a posted off-leash area. Everywhere else in public, parks and their trails included, your dog must be on a leash (Responsible Dog Ownership), and the Parks bylaw also keeps dogs, even on a leash, out of natural or environmentally sensitive areas such as designated ravines and wetlands, so follow the signs (Parks bylaw, § 608-1 and § 608-34).

Can my dog swim in Lake Ontario? Not from a supervised swimming beach between 1 April and 31 October. The off-leash area at Cherry Beach sits beside the beach: blogTO’s 2021 guide describes dogs playing fetch in the lake there (blogTO, Apr 2021).

Does my dog need a licence to use an off-leash area? Yes, and a licence is required for every dog in Toronto anyway. It costs $25 a year for a spayed or neutered dog; see the dog licence in Toronto.

What if my dog runs off? Search close by first, then report the lost or found dog free on FurFam. A licence tag helps whoever finds your dog get it home.

All our Toronto places, with their sources: dog-friendly places.