Best places to walk your dog in York

Great Places to Walk Your Dog in York

York might be famous for its history and cobbled streets, but it’s also a brilliant city for dog owners. From riverside trails to woodland escapes, there are plenty of places where you and your dog can enjoy a great walk — and get in some solid training along the way.

As a professional dog trainer working across York, Harrogate, Leeds, and throughout North Yorkshire, I always encourage owners to make the most of local walking routes. These aren’t just for exercise — they’re ideal for working on recall, focus, socialisation, and more.

Here are some of my top picks for dog walks in and around York:

🌿 1. Rowntree Park & Millennium Bridge Loop

Located just a short stroll from the city centre, Rowntree Park offers open space, shaded areas, and access to the riverside path. You can create a lovely loop walk across the Millennium Bridge and back along the other side of the Ouse.

Trainer Tip: Ideal for early lead training, socialisation with city distractions, and short recall drills in a controlled area.

🌲 2. Hob Moor

This open nature reserve feels like a slice of countryside right in the city. It’s quieter than some of York’s parks, and the open terrain makes it a great spot for practising off-lead recall (with a long line if needed) and building confidence in reactive or nervous dogs.

🐾 3. Clifton Ings & Rawcliffe Meadows

Follow the Ouse north from the city centre and you’ll reach Clifton Ings — a huge floodplain with grassy fields and a riverside path. This area is popular with local dog walkers and offers plenty of space to work on focus and engagement.

🏞 4. Askham Bog

A Yorkshire Wildlife Trust site, Askham Bog is a peaceful boardwalk and woodland area just outside the city. It’s great for sensory enrichment and calm lead walking. Dogs should stay on the lead to protect local wildlife, which makes it a perfect spot to reinforce loose-lead training.

🚶 5. Fulford Ings

Running along the River Ouse south of the city, Fulford Ings offers a quieter alternative to the city centre walks. Ideal for dogs that need a bit of space, this flat path is great for long lead recall practice and structured walking.

🐶 Final Thoughts from Jack

Walking your dog is more than just burning energy — it’s a daily opportunity to train, bond, and build calm confidence in the real world. York offers so many great environments to practise everything from recall to polite lead walking.

If you’re in York or the surrounding areas and need help with anything from puppy training to behavioural issues, I’d love to work with you.

I’m Jack — your local dog trainer at Northern K9 Company. I provide personalised, 1-to-1 training across York, tailored to you and your dog’s needs. Let’s turn those everyday walks into real progress.

Get in touch With Jack

Let me know how me and the team can help with your dog's training and I will personally respond with an email, text message or I will arrange a phone call. Even if you just need some simple advice I'm happy to help.

why should you Get in touch?

Hi, i'm jack, I treat every dog I train like my own. I seriously do, I love all dogs regardless of their breed or history. Every training session is a lesson learnt for both me and your dog, I try make every session as fun as possible, Although I believe in pack leadership I don't believe in showing dogs "who is boss" I believe in showing dogs that I am pretty cool to hang around with, and feeling safe in my presence which is why I also try to make every session an adventure for us both. One of my favourite things about this job is seeing how exited dogs get when they see me. Dogs really are Angels sent from heaven.