Correction (3 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed places and details we could not stand behind. It has been rewritten from scratch: every place below was confirmed at two independent sources on 3 October 2026, and every price was copied from the page it was published on.
Three places had enough on the public record to list: one park in South Morang, one council dog park in Mernda, and one cafe near that dog park. The park is the only one with a South Morang address. The other two are in Mernda.
The rule that matters comes first for each place, as listed by the park manager or the council. Where a source does not say, this page says “check the sign or the council order” and does not guess. We have not walked a dog in any of these places, so there is no report on the ground or the fences.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | Order this | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Parks Victoria trail from Red Gum Car Park, on lead only (no dogs at Hawkstowe Picnic Area or the Morang Wetlands) | Plenty Gorge Parklands (Plenty Gorge Park) | — | — |
| A council off-leash dog park in Mernda | Creek Park off-leash dog park | see below | not printed here |
| A cafe on the same street as the dog park (no dog policy recorded) | Split Bean Cafe | Toast or Raisin Toast | $9 |
Plenty Gorge Parklands (Plenty Gorge Park) — Red Gum Car Park, Gordons Road (off Plenty Road), South Morang VIC 3752
Status as listed: on-lead on the Red Gum trail; no dogs at Hawkstowe Picnic Area or in the Morang Wetlands. Parks Victoria’s Red Gum Car Park page says: “Dogs are welcome but must remain on-lead.” Parks Victoria describes the Red Gum Car Park as in Plenty Gorge Parklands, South Morang, reached from Gordons Road, off Plenty Road.
Rules differ from site to site inside this park, and Parks Victoria publishes a separate page for each. The same Red Gum Car Park page says: “Dogs must be kept on lead on the trail and are not allowed in the Morang Wetlands.” The Hawkstowe Picnic Area page says: “No dogs allowed.” So the on-lead welcome covers the trail from the car park, not the wetlands at the end of it and not the picnic area. Read the page for the site you are heading to before you go, and trust the sign at the entrance over this list.
Off-leash status: none. On lead on the Red Gum trail, and no dogs at all at Hawkstowe Picnic Area or in the Morang Wetlands, per Parks Victoria; check the page for your site.
Creek Park off-leash dog park — Corner of Plenty Road and Mernda Village Drive, Mernda VIC 3754
Status as listed: off-leash dog park. The council’s dog parks page says: “Our off-leash parks contain dog training, exercise and agility equipment.” It places Creek Park at the corner of Plenty Road and Mernda Village Drive, Mernda, with an access gate off Mernda Village Drive and 2 access gates off Perry Street.
OpenStreetMap lists an off-lead dog park at the same spot under a different name, Mernda Off-lead Dog Park. We matched the two by position, so treat that as probable, not certain. The council’s page also lists a dog park in the South Morang area that we could not confirm at a second source, so it is not on this page. This one is in Mernda.
Bring: bags. The council says dog owners “must keep all dogs under effective control and clean up after them”.
Split Bean Cafe — 1/59 Mernda Village Drive, Mernda VIC 3754
Split Bean Cafe is at Mernda Village Shopping Centre on Mernda Village Drive, the same street as the dog park corner. Its own site lists opening hours of 6:00am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday and 7:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Dogs are the open question. The Australian Good Food Guide flags the cafe as “Pet Friendly”, but that is a listing tag, not a statement from the cafe that dogs are welcome, so we do not call it dog-friendly. We did not record a dog policy from the cafe’s own site. For a menu line, the site prints Toast or Raisin Toast at $9 and Eggs Your Way On Toast at $13.90, with Shakshuka at $19.90 and Egg Benedict at $21.90.
On the menu (copied from splitbeancafe.com.au on 3 October 2026):
- Toast or Raisin Toast: $9
- Eggs Your Way On Toast: $13.90
- Shakshuka: $19.90
- Egg Benedict: $21.90
Inside or outside only: unknown, so ask the cafe before you tie up a lead; no worries if the answer is no.
Quick answers
Are dogs allowed at Plenty Gorge Park?
Parks Victoria’s Red Gum Car Park page says: “Dogs are welcome but must remain on-lead.” The same page says dogs “are not allowed in the Morang Wetlands”, and the Hawkstowe Picnic Area page says “No dogs allowed.” Check the Parks Victoria page for the site you are visiting and follow the sign at the entrance.
Is there an off-leash dog park near South Morang?
The council’s dog parks page lists Creek Park, at the corner of Plenty Road and Mernda Village Drive in Mernda. That is Mernda, not South Morang. The same council page also lists a dog park it places in South Morang itself, which we could not confirm at a second source, so it is not on this page. We did not read any off-leash times, so check the council order and the signage.
Is Split Bean Cafe dog-friendly?
We cannot say. The Australian Good Food Guide flags it “Pet Friendly”, but that is not a statement that dogs are welcome, and we did not record a dog policy from the cafe’s own site. Ask before you go.
What do dog owners have to do at council off-leash parks?
The council’s page says dog owners “must keep all dogs under effective control and clean up after them”.
How we checked
We checked every place on this page against at least two independent sources on 3 October 2026: OpenStreetMap, government pages, council pages, the places’ own websites and the Australian Good Food Guide. Every price is copied exactly as printed on the page linked under Sources, on 3 October 2026. Menus, prices and opening hours change, so check with the venue before you go. The cover photo is illustrative, from Unsplash, and does not show any place on this page.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Plenty Gorge Parklands (Plenty Gorge Park): openstreetmap.org/9278364, parks.vic.gov.au/plenty-gorge-parklands, parks.vic.gov.au/red-gum-car-park-(plenty-gorge), parks.vic.gov.au/hawkstowe-picnic-area
- Creek Park off-leash dog park: openstreetmap.org/237080167, whittlesea.vic.gov.au/Dog-parks
- Split Bean Cafe: openstreetmap.org/5872679560, splitbeancafe.com.au, agfg.com.au/spilt-bean-cafe-54274
