Parks & Green Spaces for Dogs in Spa

A 6.5-hectare lake created by a dam in 1890, just at the gates of Spa, ringed by a fully surfaced perimeter path about 600 metres long. It is the town's go-to dog walk: flat, easy for all, with several points where a leashed dog can drink from the water. Cafés with terraces sit right on the shore for a pause. Keep to the loop path and your leash, and the whole circuit takes well under an hour.

The green heart of Spa, laid out beside the town centre and famous for its long covered galleries, a 19th-century promenade where you could stroll sheltered from the rain. It is an easy, level place for a short leashed walk, with lawns, mature trees and Le Chalet du Parc brasserie inside the grounds. On a wet Ardennes day, the roofed galleries are a genuinely useful place to walk a dog and stay dry.

Belgium's largest nature reserve rises on the plateau above Spa, a windswept world of peat bog, heather and boardwalk trails crowned by the Signal de Botrange, the country's highest point at 694 metres. An extensive network of marked paths and duckboards crosses the landscape. Leashed dogs are welcome on most of the park, but they are banned entirely from the strict core reserve zones, which are signposted, so plan your route around the permitted trails.