For an inner-city walk that feels worlds away from the CBD's hustle and bustle, the Merri Creek Trail offers up 21 kilometres of leafy, open-air goodness, from Dights Falls up to the Western Ring Road. 

Not just a popular destination for outdoor fitness fiends and joggers, Albert Park is also a paradise for furry locals keen to stretch their legs. The spacious precinct is packed with walking trails, picnic areas, open spaces and that iconic namesake lake. 

Ideally located for northsiders, Clayton Reserve is a small but welcoming fenced-in dog park where furry friends can run, play and socialise to their heart's content. 

While it's an on-leash area only, Jells Park in the Dandenong Creek Valley offers up 127 hectares of sniffing and exploring for local dog owners and their pawed pals. 

A favourite off-leash area among Bayside dog owners, this fenced patch of beach between Bay and Sandown streets is the perfect combination of surf, sand and pure, unadulterated doggy delight. 

Not just chock full of park amenities and perks for us humans — we're talking BBQs, sheltered picnic spots and stacks of sports facilities — Caulfield Park also has plenty of lush, well-maintained ground suitable for dogs to roam off-leash at their leisure. 

Ask any Richmond pooch and they'll tell you Citizens Park is the place to be, running wild and free at the sports grounds just off Bridge Road. Whenever the footy oval isn't being used for training or a match, doggos are allowed to make it their own.

Well deserving of a five-paw rating, Sir Zelman Cowen Park boasts a smorgasbord of stuff that'll please furry pals. The park features stacks of sprawling, manicured green grounds and the picturesque Gardiners Creek running through it.

For waterfront walkies that are still nice and close to the city, take your pup for a cruise along the coastal strip of Port Melbourne, joining Station and Lagoon piers. 

After a successful year-long trial in 2015, the sandy stretch between Charman and Plummer Roads in Mentone is now officially a 24-hour off-leash dog beach. 

Outside of the summer months, Elwood Beach proves a popular playground for four-legged mates, with dogs allowed to roam and explore off-leash, 24 hours a day.