Dunlop walk directions

Summary

This mostly flat walk follows a loop around pretty West Belconnen Pond on the very edge of north-west Canberra. It provides a long off leash stretch along the far side of the pond, including paddling opportunities; lovely rural views towards the Brindabella Mountains range; and family friendly features such as playgrounds and picnic facilities. Most of the route is paved, except for the off leash section. The walk is best done in mild weather or early or late in the day, as there is little shade; the prettiest time of year is late winter when the many wattles are in bloom. The walk starts and ends at the Dunlop shops (in reality, just one supermarket) carpark on the corner of Lance Hill Avenue and Shoobridge Circuit where there's also a little playground, bins, and most days a coffee van.
Start/Finish - Dunlop shops carpark, corner of Lance Hill Avenue and Shoobridge Circuit
Time/Distance - Allow 60 minutes/approx 4 km
Off lead rating - ♥♥
Parking - Free parking in the carpark at the corner of Lance Hill Avenue and Shoobridge Circuit
Dog friendly café - A regular coffee van in the carpark
Public toilets - The nearest are three minutes drive away at the Charnwood shopping centre
Bins - At the shops, and around West Belconnen Pond
Distractions - Occasionally kangaroos across the fence adjacent to West Belconnen Pond
Playgrounds - Next to the carpark and two around West Belconnen Pond
Photo gallery - See photos taken on the Dunlop walk.

Note - All our dog walks assume you are a responsible dog owner with effective control of your dog. See our Important Stuff page before starting any of our walks.

Map

Use the navigation tools to zoom in or out for different views of the route or click on the 'view larger map' icon on the top right hand corner of the map to view in google maps.

Directions

Supermarket carpark to West Belconnen Pond (10 minutes)

1. Start at the little playground next to the supermarket carpark.
The large grassy area adjacent to the playground and bordered by the supermarket building and streets is off leash.
You may wish to walk around this off leash area for a few minutes, taking advantage of the bin located next to the supermarket.
Remember dogs are prohibited from entering playgrounds while in use so make sure they don't wander too close, and take care of the bordering roads.
Note that your children can still visit the playgrounds on this walk if you also have your dog with you, but dogs need to remain outside the playground area while in use.
2. When you're ready, with your back to the carpark, walk past the playground on the footpath along the left side of Shoobridge Circuit. At the end of the grassy area, cross a street and continue straight on the footpath following Shoobridge Circuit until the next intersection.
3. At this point, the footpath intersects with another footpath. Turn right here to cross Shoobridge Circuit and follow the new footpath through a narrow park. Follow the footpath a short distance until you reach another long narrow park. Turn left here, following the paved path slightly uphill through this new park.
4. Continue along this paved path as it passes through an underpass and then soon reaches a pond (West Belconnen Pond).

West Belconnen Pond Circuit (40 minutes)

5. At the pond, the path diverges. Turn right and follow the path, passing a children's playground on your left. As you pass the playground the path veers right away from the pond and follows closely to a street on your right (Eldershaw Crescent).
6. As you walk parallel to Eldershaw Crescent, look out on your left for the point where the trees and shrubs end. At this point, turn left off the paved path and walk across to the fence line. Look for the cavaletti (low wooden poles in a row) in the fence line at the intersection of another fence. Turn left to walk through the cavaletti and enter the fenced and rear area of West Belconnen Pond.
Off leash opportunity starts here.
Note, however, that there is sometimes a mob of kangaroos grazing in the paddock on the other side of the fence. As the fencing is permeable to determined dogs at this point, if you have one of these, leave them on leash for another 100 metres until you pass the stock gate in the fence line and the track turns left. After that, the fencing is excellent and the topography means that any further kangaroos are very difficult to see and/or access.
7. On the other side of the cavaletti, turn right following the dirt track with the fence on your right. Continue following the track as it veers left, past a stock gate, and continue on this track for another 15 minutes or so. Approximately half way along this section, the dirt track will become a gravel track and the pond will come into view on your left.
The rural views ahead and to the right with the Brindabella Mountains in the distance are really lovely along this section.
Soon after the track becomes gravel, there is a faint dirt track heading left into some trees towards the pond. There is a nice spot here for any water-inclined dogs to have a paddle and play. In late winter, the little island in the pond provides a lovely display of blooming wattles.
8. Eventually the track intersects with another track. Turn left to continue circuiting the pond.
A little further along there is a blue bench next to the pond. This is another easy spot for dogs to have a paddle and swim.
9. Continue a few minutes further along the dirt track circling the pond until it passes through a fence line.
Off leash opportunity ends at the fence line.
10. Continue following the track which quickly becomes a paved path and heads towards another children's playground. Follow the footpath curving left around the pond, passing the playground area on your right.
There's a covered seating area next to the playground providing a good place for a rest, as well as a bin.
11.  Soon the footpath forks - the left fork continuing around the pond and the right fork running parallel to a street (Percy Begg Circuit). At this point you have a choice: turning left to continue a little further around the edge of the pond; or turning right to take a shortcut saving a little over 5 minutes. Whichever choice you make, both paved paths converge again where Percy Begg Circuit veers right away from the pond.

West Belconnen Pond to Supermarket carpark (10 minutes)

12. Shortly after the two paths converge, the path then intersects with another path. This is the path you came up to reach the pond. Turn right to walk down this path, heading away from the pond, to retrace your steps back to the starting point.
It is sometimes difficult to spot this turn-off, especially if you are enjoying the scenery instead of concentrating on these directions! You will know you've missed the turn right if you see the first playground again on your left.
13. Continue through the underpass, downhill along the footpath, and through the narrow park until you come to the intersection of another narrow park. This is where you turn right, following the footpath back to where Shoobridge Circuit turns left to return to the supermarket carpark.

If you'd prefer to join one of our regular guided group walks, find out more at our guided walks page.