Dog Parks and Green Spaces in New York City

Manhattan's 843-acre signature park, where dogs can be off-leash from 5 am to 9 am and 9 pm to 1 am across most of the park, year-round. Roughly two dozen specific areas (Sheep Meadow, Conservatory Garden, the Great Lawn during ballgame hours, all playgrounds, sports fields and water bodies) remain leashed at all times. The Pinetum and Wallach Walk are favourite off-leash spots; the East and West Drives are quiet enough at dawn for a long roam.

Brooklyn's 526-acre answer to Central Park, designed by the same Olmsted-Vaux team. Off-leash hours run 5 am to 9 am everywhere outside the Long Meadow ballfields. The park's headline feature for dogs is the Dog Beach, a small inlet of the Lullwater Pond where dogs can swim during off-leash hours from April to November. The Long Meadow and Nethermead are wide, treelined and ideal for a sunrise sprint.

A 4-mile linear park along Manhattan's West Side, from Battery Park to 59th Street, with three dedicated fenced dog runs (Leroy Street, Pier 84, Chelsea Waterside). Walking the full waterfront with a dog is one of the city's signature experiences. The Leroy Street run in the West Village is the most social; Chelsea Waterside has artificial turf and is easiest on senior joints.