Barnett Park Track
Christchurch · Canterbury · Out & Back
This walk comes from licensed public walk data and is being progressively confirmed against the authorities. Signs on the day always win. The rule-setter’s own wording: “Christchurch City Council's adopted Dog Control Policy 2025 lists Barnett Park Conservation Area in its schedule with a dog control status of Leashed / Under effective control, and splits the park in its own words: "Dogs must be on a leash to protect conservation values and grazing stock up the hill at the back of the park. The grassed, flat area near the Bay View Road carpark, and near the sports ground, is an under effective control / off-leash area." (Christchurch City Council, Adopted Dog Control Policy 2025, Port Hills reserves schedule, fetched 30 August 2026.) This track climbs the back of the park, so it sits in the leashed part”. Evidence: a hand-checked correction against the authority. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
Dogs are allowed here. Keep them on the lead, watch for ground-nesting birds and stock, and read the signs at the gate.
About Barnett Park Track
Barnett Park Track covers 3.9 km, near Christchurch in Canterbury, walked as an out-and-back.
It is worth knowing exactly where the off-lead ground stops. The council maps the flat grass by the Bay View Road carpark and the sports ground as an under effective control area, so a dog can be off the lead down there, but once you start climbing up the back of the park you are in the leashed part, protecting conservation values and the grazing stock on the hill.
Graded moderate, it climbs about 155 m overall, pitching up to 25 % at its steepest, and takes about 1–1.5 hr to walk.
The track takes in big views. Dogs are allowed here, on the lead. Walkers rate it 4.6 / 5 across 91 reviews.
