Dog walking in Austin

Central Austin

The neighborhood of Central Austin is the busiest community in the city, with rows of small businesses and shopping centers. The Horace Austin Park is the top place to go in the neighborhood, thanks to its two plots on both sides of Will Pond. With trails that stretch around the pond and pass over it with a bridge, and span over 1.8 miles throughout the park, your pup has lots to explore here. The paths are made from concrete, and lead to access points to the pond, a boat launch, fishing dock, playground, picnic pavilion, gazebo, and sitting area. Dogs are welcome in the park while on a leash, and can spend lots of time playing in the open areas or walking along the paths with access to water fountains and clean-up stations.

Downtown Austin

Downtown Austin is south of the center of Austin, and continues to grow with lots of businesses and urban centers. On the south side of the neighborhood is Bandshell Community Park, a large and popular park with a pond, open area, shaded sitting area, and a shoreline along Cedar River. The dog-friendly park has lots to do for humans and pups, including a fenced-in area for dogs to run around off-leash, with separate areas for small and large dogs, double-gated entrances, clean-up stations, and dog-sized water fountains. Outside the dog park are paved paths, a fishing pond, playground, amphitheater, and open space that is also dog-friendly. Outside the dog park, pups must be on a leash.

Austin Acres

The Austin Acres neighborhood is on the west side of town, cut in half by turtle creek. The best place to go and walk Fido is the Shirley Theel Memorial Park, which hosts over 20 acres of open space with a few trees and small parking lot. Inside the park, the lawn is well-kept and is encircled by the Shirley Theel Trail, a .5-mile concrete path inside the park. There's a baseball diamond, restrooms, a playground, water fountains, benches, and clean-up stations, trash bins, and nighttime lights, available for humans and leashed pups from the hours of 6 AM to 11 PM.

Western Austin

Western Austin is west from the downtown area of Austin, and is mostly comprised of suburban residential homes. Among them is the Fayette Sherman Park, a small but cozy park with open space that is surrounded by trees. Fido will love the park thanks to the abundance of space he can run around in. Other features of the park include a paved walking path, enclosed baseball field, tennis courts, picnic shelter, water fountains, and clean-up stations. Sterling Park is another dog-friendly area in the neighborhood, mostly made up of an open space that is completely fenced-in. Although fenced-in, dogs must remain on a leash inside this park and you should remember to bring water and clean-up bags.

East Austin

East Austin is a gorgeous suburban neighborhood with views of the surrounding farmland and East Side Lake. Along the shores of the lake rests the East Side Lake Park, a narrow but long park that takes up the entire eastern side of the lake. Starting on the southern end of the park starts a paved trail that winds through the area and extends over 1 mile along the shore. There's open space, a small beach, fishing dock, boat launch, and playground. Dogs are welcome inside the park while on a leash and can enjoy additional features like water fountains, clean-up stations, benches, and trash bins.