Sydney is blessed with over 60km of ocean fronting beaches.

So it is a little disappointing for the five hundred thousand registered dogs in Sydney (and their owners!) that dogs are banned from nearly every ocean beach. Even on a lead!

But don't give up hope.

There are a few dog-friendly harbour beaches, bays and lagoons where you and your dog can enjoy mucking about in the water.

Within Sydney the only ocean beach that allows dogs is Wanda Beach in Cronulla. Until May 2010, this was only during weekdays, but Sutherland Shire Council are starting a 12 month trial of allowing dogs off-leash on weekends and public holidays.  The trial starts when the signage in the area is updated - check the blog for more details. Off-leash times will be 4pm - 10am on weekends and public holidays. The area that will be off-leash extends for over 1km, and will be a huge asset to the dog-owners of Sydney!

There is also plenty of ocean-beach frolicking in Wollongong and Gosford!

For a complete listing of Sydney dog-friendly beaches, you can download the "Life's a Beach" chapter from our online shop for a small fee. Make a note to join our monthly newsletter  for when the local council makes any adjustments. You can unsubsribe at any time and we will not pass your email details on to any third party.

If you would like to have fun with your dog throughout Sydney, then purchase Great Sydney Dog Walks. It contains over 40 dog-friendly walks, every Sydney council off-leash park and some of the dog-friendly State Parks and Forests surrounding Sydney.It's available in our online shop or in all good bookstores - including selected Borders and Dymocks, and dog friendly stores such as Dogue in Manly and Bondi.