Dogs in parks

Although most nation­al parks do not allow dogs (assis­tance dogs allowed) there are a num­ber of parks where dogs are wel­come. Keep your dog on des­ig­nat­ed walk­ing trails and under your con­trol on a lead of no more than two meters at all times. 

Where can I walk my dog?

To find out which nation­al parks you can walk your dog in use our find a park tool and refine your search to ​‘Dog walk­ing (restric­tions apply)’.

• Every­thing you need to know about tak­ing dogs in SA’s nation­al parks

• 17 dog-friend­ly walks in Ade­laide parks

Assis­tance dogs

Assis­tance dogs are per­mit­ted in most pub­lic places and are there­fore wel­come in South Australia’s parks and reserves. Assis­tance dogs must be appro­pri­ate­ly restrained and remain under your effec­tive con­trol at all times while in a park or reserve.

Before tak­ing your assis­tance dog into a park or reserve, oth­er than those list­ed above, it is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed that you con­tact us so we can pro­vide you with the lat­est infor­ma­tion on any poten­tial haz­ards with­in spe­cif­ic parks that may affect your dog. Please con­tact the park via the phone num­bers list­ed on each park page or con­tact the vis­i­tor ser­vices cen­tre via email.

Why does my dog need to be on a lead?

If your dog is unleashed, it is more like­ly to impact on native wildlife and oth­er vis­i­tors in a park and be at risk itself.

Risks to wildlife:

• Dogs off tracks will leave a scent in the bush that will keep wildlife away.
• Uncon­trolled dogs may fright­en wildlife and dis­rupt their nat­ur­al behavior.
• Some dogs will kill or injure wildlife.

Risks to oth­er park visitors

• Dogs may be aggres­sive to oth­er park visitors.
• Even friend­ly dogs can knock peo­ple over caus­ing injury.
• Some peo­ple want to enjoy parks with­out dogs.

Risks to your dog

• Poi­son baits may be laid to con­trol fox­es. Baits can be fatal to dogs.
• Even if your dog is friend­ly, oth­er dogs may not be.
• Your dog can catch par­a­sites (such as fleas and ticks) from wildlife.
• Snake bites are a real risk in nat­ur­al areas such as parks.
• Wildlife such as kan­ga­roos and koalas will defend them­selves if threat­ened by a dog and can cause sig­nif­i­cant injury to or the death of your dog.

Dog walk­ing tips from Adelady