First walks in Richmond.
For everyday walks in Richmond, keep your dog securely leashed and check which park areas permit dogs. Barker Field and Church Hill are two featured off-leash parks. The rules, the parks, and a calm plan for a new dog's first week.
The rules, in short
From the Richmond City Code and the city’s own pages.
- 1Out in public: immediate control - fence, tether, lead or leash (fine print)
- 2Off-leash play: Barker Field and Church Hill dog parks
- 3City licensing from four months and older; keep the license tag current
- 4Rabies shot from four months - the tag rides on the collar too
- 5Check dog-permitted park areas; keep the leash on outside designated dog exercise areas
- 6An electronic collar does not count as restraint (fine print)
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Current Richmond section 4-243 prohibits dogs roaming, running or self-hunting off the owner's property without immediate control by physical restraint or confinement with a fence, tether, lead or leash. Electronic collars do not qualify. It permits restraint removal in designated posted dog exercise areas and on other private property with that property owner's or controller's consent. Section 4-245 restricts dogs in Maymont, Azalea Gardens in Bryan Park, recreation or athletic areas, children's play lots and posted areas. Leashed dogs may enter permitted parts of Byrd Park, but not ball diamonds, tennis courts, playground or picnic shelters; the Carillon, Roundhouse, Dogwood Dell or Ha'Penny Stage; Maymont Visitors Center; the restricted Sun Bathing Plot; or the specified Vita Course area. Special permits and guide/hearing/service-dog exceptions apply. Section 4-246 requires leashes in city parks where dogs may lawfully enter. Section 4-244 requires nuisance prevention and confinement of females in heat, except planned breeding. Follow posted operator rules and remove waste promptly.
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Richmond’s streets.
- 1Leash, quiet streets, short and sniffy - calm hours, near home, ending before your dog is wound up. An off-leash area is not day-one material for a brand-new dog.
- 2Sniffing is the point - let your dog pause and sniff instead of focusing on distance. More on the sniff walk.
- 3Settle first, explore later - more on the first days: a routine for a newly adopted dog and a calm start to every walk.
The dog parks, for later
Once your dog has settled. Two featured fenced dog parks confirmed on the city's own pages, within parks normally open sunrise to sunset:
- 1Barker Field Dog Park - at the southern end of Blanton Avenue in William Byrd Park; fenced, near the Dogwood Dell amphitheater
- 2Church Hill Dog Park - on the eastern lower terrace of Chimborazo Park; separate areas for large and small dogs
Check current posted rules, closures and dog-permitted access routes. Keep your dog leashed outside the designated exercise areas, under control inside, and keep waste bags handy. City park rules prohibit alcohol and glass. Pins identify named dog-park locations, not exact entrances or every off-leash boundary.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
The current code requires city licensing for dogs and cats four months and older (section 4-185) and current rabies vaccination at that age with required revaccination (section 4-365). Keep identification and vaccination documentation current and check current license terms and fees with the city rather than relying on an older price. Richmond adopted its 2026 recodification in July 2026. The current publisher root is headed Code of the City of Richmond, Virginia, 2026 and places animals in Chapter 4; do not use the separate 2015 archive, which placed animals in Chapter 10.
Sources
Sources: current publisher-root Chapter 4, full sections 4-243 through 4-246, 4-185 and 4-365; adopted Ordinance 2026-160 recodification; Byrd Park and Barker Field operator page; Chimborazo and Church Hill operator page. Rechecked November 3, 2026. Publisher root is titled 2026 Code, with a February 18, 2026 current-version label. The separate document 238016 is a 2015 archive and is not used here. Named park locations, not exact entrances.
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