Located in Ajax, Greenwood Conservation area leash free dog park is one of my favorite places to go hiking with my dog, Nala.
Summer Off Leash Hiking
The leash free zone is located in the North West corner of Greenwood Conservation Area. The park is easily accessed through the parking lot entrance off of Church Street just south of 5th concession road. Although the parking lot is fairly small, free parking is also available along the edge of Church street. The leash free zone can also be reached through many trails that lead through the conservation area.
This dog park is quite popular with local residents and can get quite busy during the day and on weekends. I find the best time is early in the morning before the park gets too busy. If you visit in the summer as the sun is rising, you can see the mist on the grass evaporating. In addition, you have the trails almost to yourself.
There are a variety of hiking paths, both through the forested areas and an open field. There is a sandy flat area perfect for playing fetch. In addition, there is a picnic table in the open area, where people tend to gather to chat as their dogs play.
During the nice weather, I enjoy riding my bike along the paths as my dog Nala runs with me. We can normally fit in a few km in about 30 minutes. A nice morning wake up for both of us before I start work.
Some days I like to hike some steep hills. Greenwood has a few options to check out. First, the outback trail, starting 5th concession road offers a nice hill. Another option is hiking down to the creek on the east side of the dog park.
Although the creek is outside the leash free boundary, noted by a few signs around the park, most hikers in this area are also enjoying the outdoors with their dog.
Overall, a great location in Ajax for off leash hiking and to let your dog run and get their ‘zoomies’ out!!
Please note, I do recommend sticking on the trails as there is quite a bit of poison ivy along the edge of trails and near the forest.
Winter Visit
Nala and I absolutely love to visit Greenwood Conservation Area, when we’re not on the road, we’re most likely here! It’s absolutely stunning with the snow on the trees. The leash free area is in the north west corner of the conservation area. The parking lot off church street is normally cleared in Winter for easy parking.
There’s a variety of paths through open field and forested areas. Nala loves running through and rolling around in the snow. Visitors can stay on flatter terrain or venture down the steep slopes towards a creek.
Greenwood is absolutely perfect for snowshoeing after a snowstorm, when the snow is deep and the trees are covered in snow. It’s absolutely beautiful! After a few days, enough people have packed down the trails that we can switch to ice cleats for our hike.
Looking for other off leash hiking trails, check out our visit to Davis Drive Tract in York Regional Forest!