Portland, ME's best dog parks, from Quarry Run's wooded acres to the Eastern Prom.
Off-leash trails, fenced wooded acres, and a Casco Bay loop on every short walk
Park Finder
Find the right park in Portland.
Filter 15 parks by the details that decide a visit: fenced or open, reactive-friendly, shaded, double-gated, puppy-safe.
All 15 parks
· showing 12
4.8Mackworth Island State Park
510 reviewsAn island loop with rocky beaches and bay views the whole way
- Parking
- Restrooms
- Unfenced
4.8Presumpscot River Preserve
232 reviewsRiverbank trails with falls, swim spots, and a 10-minute drive from downtown
- Parking
- Unfenced
- Swimming
4.7Quarry Run Dog Park
471 reviewsForty acres of fenced woods, hills, and switchback trails
- Fenced
- Shade
- Parking
4.7Eastern Promenade Trail
236 reviewsCasco Bay views, a paved promenade, and a small off-leash beach
- Parking
- Off-leash
- Unfenced
4.7Fort Sumner Park
211 reviewsA Munjoy Hill overlook with the best sunset view in town
- Unfenced
- Urban
- Senior dogs
4.7Oat Nuts Park Trail
81 reviewsA short trailhead into the Forest City Trail and the Smelt Hill falls
- Unfenced
- Nature trail
- Urban
4.6Hinckley Park
222 reviewsOff-leash trails around two ponds, three miles south of downtown
- Shade
- Parking
- Off-leash
4.6Mayor Baxter Woods
209 reviewsA 30-acre pine forest with off-leash hours and a fall-foliage payoff
- Shade
- Unfenced
- Nature trail
4.6Kennebunk Dog Park
151 reviewsA volunteer-run sandy yard with shade trees and a back-corner hose
- Fenced
- Water
- Shade
4.6Merrymeeting Dog Park
151 reviewsA Brunswick riverside fenced park with separate sections and a paved walk-in
- Fenced
- Water
- Shade
4.5Back Cove Park
166 reviewsA flat 3.5-mile cove loop with a running-club crowd and big skies
- Parking
- Unfenced
- Urban
4.5Capisic Pond Park
153 reviewsEighteen wetland acres with a turtle pond and a wet-season waterfall
- Unfenced
- Nature trail
- Urban
4.3Valley Street Dog Park
224 reviewsA covered shelter and a wooded hill in the middle of the West End
- Fenced
- Water
- Shade
4.3Saco Dog Park
92 reviewsA fenced Saco yard with a bubbler at the gate and a shade pergola
- Fenced
- Water
- Small-dog area
3.8Westbrook Dog Park
49 reviewsA two-yard fenced park with homemade agility and a friendly local crowd
- Fenced
- Small-dog area
- Large-dog area
Dog Owner's Guide
What to know before a dog park day in Portland.
Portland's dog-park scene leans on real off-leash culture more than fenced acreage. The city's posted off-leash hours at parks like Eastern Prom and Mayor Baxter Woods set the tone, and the woods-and-water character of southern Maine fills in the rest.
Last reviewed
- 01
Rules
Leash laws & off-leash rules
City of Portland ordinance requires dogs leashed at all times in city parks, except at designated off-leash areas and during posted off-leash hours.
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Eastern Promenade, Mayor Baxter Woods, and the Western Promenade carry seasonal off-leash windows that typically run dawn to 9am and 5pm to dusk; the actual hours are posted at each park entrance and shift in the spring and fall. Quarry Run on Ocean Avenue is fully fenced and off-leash any time it's open. South Portland and Falmouth have their own ordinances; Hinckley Park (South Portland) is off-leash on the trail system, and Mackworth Island (Falmouth) is leashed-only with rangers on site.
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Access
Permits, licensing & fees
Portland requires a city dog license for any dog over six months, with proof of rabies vaccination, renewable annually.
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Maine state law does the same on the rabies side. There's no entry fee or off-leash permit at any city park. Mackworth Island State Park charges $4 per non-Maine adult at the gate; Maine residents enter free.
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Health
Vaccinations & requirements
Rabies is required by Maine state law for the city license.
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The off-leash areas don't check vaccinations at the gate, but DHPP and bordetella are worth keeping current if your dog is mixing on the regulars circuit at Quarry Run or Valley Street.
- 04
Timing
Climate & seasonality
Winter is long and the dog-park calendar bends to it.
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December through March, fenced parks like Quarry Run and Valley Street stay usable but icy underfoot, and Valley Street's wooded hillside gets genuinely slippery. Mud season runs late March into early May. Summer is short and excellent: cool mornings, long evenings, and the off-leash hours line up with sunset over Casco Bay. Black-fly season hits the wooded preserves in late May and June.
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Geography
Where to go, by neighborhood
Quarry Run anchors the north side off Ocean Avenue near the Falmouth line.
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Eastern Prom, Fort Sumner, and Back Cove ring the central peninsula. Mayor Baxter Woods sits in the Stevens Avenue corridor, with Capisic Pond just west of it. Hinckley Park is across the bridge in South Portland, Mackworth Island is the Falmouth pick, and the Westbrook and Kennebunk fenced parks cover suburban runs west and south.
Park picks
Which park for which day.
When the day's already decided, here's the park.
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Hard run
Quarry Run Dog ParkForty fenced acres of wooded hill and switchback trail, the only fenced park in Portland with real elevation.
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Water day
Presumpscot River PreserveRiverbank wade-in spots and a small waterfall at the end of a quick downhill from the lot.
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Recall practice
Hinckley ParkOff-leash 1.3-mile loop with predictable trail crowd and clear sightlines around two ponds.
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Senior dog
Mackworth Island State ParkFlat 1.25-mile dirt loop on packed surface with benches every few hundred yards and bay views the whole way.
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Meeting owners
Eastern Promenade TrailOff-leash hours on the lawn pull a dense regulars crowd above the marina at sunrise and sunset.
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Small dog
Westbrook Dog ParkGenuinely separate small-dog yard with its own gate, bench, and agility equipment.
Nearby cities
Manchester
New Hampshire
Five parks across Manchester and the southern New Hampshire suburbs: two fenced off-leash yards in Hooksett and Merrimack, a mixed-crowd dog park in Derry, and two on-leash river spots on Manchester's West Side.
Providence
Rhode Island
Four fenced off-leash yards plus one unfenced north-side park, with the East Side's wooded Waterman Street trails as the daily favorite and Slater Park's two-yard setup as the regional flagship.
Burlington
Vermont
Eleven parks strung along Lake Champlain and the Chittenden County suburbs: traditional fenced runs, off-leash woods, and dog-only beach sections.