Walk status: Off-lead
Watercare's Coastal Walkway doesn't allow dogs, but Greenwood Road park has a designated dog walking area. You can see it marked on the Watercare's map. bottom right.
If you're anything like me and love fresh strawberries over summer, then you'll be making excuses to visit this walk a lot! The best fresh strawberries in Auckland are at The Strawberry Farm on Kirkbride Road which runs adjacent to the park. You can reward your good efforts of walking with a fresh strawberry icecream too.
Greenwood Road Park is a big open expanse of what looks like paddocks. On our first arrival here I drove up and down Greenwood Road a few times thinking I was about to walk into someones private property.
The gates look like farm gates, and there are a few of them along Greenwood that allow you to enter at various spots. However if you're after a reasonable length walk you'll want to park at one end and walk to the other as while it looks big on the map, its easily walked and doesn't take long. This is a great spot for a game of fetch though.
You can make the walk longer by taking different pathways, and there are a couple through some areas of manmade bush that give the walk variety. The park is very open in most parts, although there are established trees dotted around. It does get really hot in summer, so best to plan your walk early morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst of the heat.
Some clever person has also left a bath tub for the dogs. Great if your dog is a real water baby and happy to jump in to a small contained space to cool off. For George, he needs a bit of persuasion, usually to the point I have to dunk him in. He's usually forgiving when he realises its cooling him off so he can run around a bit longer. The bath tub is located about midway in either direction you start from.
There are no other water sources here, so best to bring water for your dog as the bath water isn't very clean after dogs have been cooling off in it.
Location: Greenwood Road, Mangere
Multiple gates along Greenwood Road to enter.
Things to know:
There are no toilets here
Parking is on the road only
The park is very open to the sun so can be too hot for the dogs in the middle of the day - best suited to early morning or late afternoon in summer.
Visit The Strawberry Farm for the best strawberries in Auckland - cash only, and dogs aren't allowed so need to stay in the car while you shop. Be aware it gets super busy over summer, so be prepared to queue and you may not find a park in their carpark, but there is plenty of street parking.
