Aug 4, 2026

4 Best Off-Leash Dog Parks in Asheville & Buncombe County, NC

Only four off-leash dog parks are open in Asheville and Buncombe County right now. Here is the address, hours, fencing, and small/large dog setup for each one, plus what happened to the two still rebuilding after Helene.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Asheville, North Carolina11 min readThings to Do

You want to let your dog run flat-out, off-leash, and you want to know exactly what you're driving to before you load up the car. That is harder to pin down in Asheville right now than it should be. Several directory sites still list dog parks that flooded and closed almost two years ago, and nobody has published the fenced-status, hours, and small-versus-large-dog details in one place. We checked.

Dogs now live in 53% of US households, roughly 71 million of them, up from 51% the year before, according to the American Pet Products Association's 2026 State of the Industry Report. Asheville's trail-and-brewery culture pulls in more than its share of them. But Tropical Storm Helene flooded the French Broad River in September 2024, and it took out the city's two longtime off-leash parks along with it. Nearly two years later, both are still rebuilding, and the online directories have not caught up.

Here is what we found, verified against the City of Asheville, Buncombe County, the Town of Black Mountain, and Wagbar's own site: four off-leash dog parks are open right now in Asheville and Buncombe County. Not ten, not seven, four. Below is each one, with the address, hours, fencing, and whether small and large dogs get separate space, plus what happened to the two parks that are still closed.

How many off-leash dog parks are open in Asheville and Buncombe County right now?

Four. Buncombe County Sports Park Dog Park in west Asheville, the City of Asheville's temporary dog park at Riverbend Park, River Walk Dog Park in Black Mountain, and Wagbar, a private paid dog bar in Weaverville. Everywhere else in the county, North Carolina's baseline rule applies: dogs must be leashed or under direct physical control whenever they are off their owner's property, including in every other city and county park.

Buncombe County's animal control ordinance is explicit about this. Outside a fenced, designated off-leash area, a dog must be "restrained by a chain, leash, harness or other means of physical control" any time it leaves its own property, and that includes every county park and greenway. The City of Asheville applies the same standard: leash required everywhere except inside a fenced dog park's boundary. Confirm the current rule with the relevant park office before you go, since local ordinances do get revisited.

Before you unclip anywhere, it is worth reading up on dog park etiquette, because a size-separated fence only works if everyone uses the right side of it.

One thing worth knowing if you are moving here rather than visiting: Buncombe County and the City of Asheville both maintain local animal ordinances covering licensing and spay or neuter requirements for resident pets. None of that is checked at a public dog park gate, but it does apply once you have an address here. Check current requirements with Buncombe County Animal Services before your first vet visit in town, since fees and thresholds are revised periodically.

Buncombe County Sports Park Dog Park: the county's fenced, size-separated option

Buncombe County's only dog park sits inside the larger Sports Park at 58 Apac Circle, Asheville, NC 28806, west of downtown. It is fully fenced, with separate enclosures for large and small dogs, so a 12-pound terrier is not sharing a play yard with a Great Dane.

The county's own facility page settles two questions that other listings get wrong. The Sports Park runs 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. seven days a week, and the dog park specifically is closed on Mondays. Turning up on a Monday is the single most common way to waste this drive. The park office is on 828-250-4260 if you want to confirm before heading out.

Because it sits inside the county's flagship sports complex, you also get shaded seating, water access near the dog area, and, if your dog needs to burn off more energy first, walking trails, disc golf, and picnic areas on the same property. Parking is gravel and free.

Riverbend Park Temporary Dog Park (Asheville): open while the city's permanent parks rebuild

The City of Asheville's off-leash option right now is a temporary dog park at Riverbend Park, announced in June 2025. In the city's own words, it "is located on 100 Bleachery Blvd. off of Swannanoa River Rd. and open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Featuring temporary fencing with separate areas for large and small dogs." The city credits the sponsorship of HCA Healthcare's Mission Health for making it possible.

The word doing the work in that sentence is temporary. The city describes it as an interim solution while it repairs and rebuilds damaged parks infrastructure, so do not expect the landscaping of a permanent build, and do check the city's site before visiting, since a stopgap facility can change hours or location with less notice than a permanent one.

River Walk Dog Park (Black Mountain): a small-town fenced escape on the Swannanoa

River Walk Dog Park sits inside River Walk Park at 205 NC 9, Black Mountain, NC 28711, east of Asheville. The Town of Black Mountain describes the park as 2 acres with picnic tables, a small fenced dog park, and a half-mile walking trail along the Swannanoa River. Hours are dawn to dusk. There is no separate small-dog area, so it plays best for social, well-matched dogs.

The town is direct about where off-leash applies: the only place a dog can be off-leash is inside the fenced dog park, and dogs must remain on leash everywhere else in the park. Call Parks and Recreation on 828-419-9300 ext. 826 to confirm current status before you make the drive, since this is a smaller facility with less redundancy than the county or city parks.

Wagbar (Weaverville): the paid, private off-leash dog bar

Wagbar is not a public park. It is a private, membership-and-day-pass off-leash dog bar at 320 Merrimon Avenue in Weaverville, about 15 minutes north of downtown Asheville, and it is the one place on this list where your dog needs a reservation, not just a leash to unclip.

Human entry is free for anyone 18 or older, dog or no dog. Dogs need a day pass or membership, plus proof of current rabies, distemper (DHPP), and bordetella vaccinations, and must be at least 6 months old and spayed or neutered. Hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The 25,000-square-foot fenced play space has ramps, tunnels, a permanent pool, and wash stations, plus a container bar serving beer, wine, cider, and coffee for the humans, with a rotating food truck schedule and a covered patio with seasonal heating and cooling. There is no confirmed separate small-dog area, so this suits confident, well-socialized dogs best. This Weaverville location is Wagbar's flagship, part of a small but growing chain of paid off-leash dog bars now operating in multiple states, so the format itself is proven even if the Asheville-area crowd and layout are unique to this spot. Pricing for day passes and memberships is not listed publicly; check wagbar.com/weaverville or call (828) 333-9765 for current rates before you go. If you keep your dog's vaccine records in PetPassport, pull them up on your phone at the gate instead of digging through a folder in your glove box.

What happened to Azalea Park and French Broad River Park's dog parks?

Both are closed, not open with limited hours, fully closed, and have been since Tropical Storm Helene's floodwaters tore through them in September 2024. If a directory site or an old bookmark sends you to either one expecting an off-leash area, you will find construction fencing instead.

Azalea Park opened in 2005, and the city's own history of the site records that "a popular dog park was added in 2007." That is the park a lot of Asheville dog owners still think of as their default. The city states that Tropical Storm Helene "caused significant damage to Azalea Road, Gashes Creek Bridge, and the park itself in 2024," which halted a visioning process that had recently started there.

French Broad River Park is the other loss, and the City of Asheville page for it is unambiguous: "This location is closed due to effects of Tropical Storm Helene." The city points visitors to its French Broad Riverfront Parks Recovery project page for updates, which is the place to watch rather than any third-party directory. Neither site has a published reopening date. Until they come back, Riverbend Park is the city's stand-in.

Off-leash dog parks in Asheville and Buncombe County at a glance

Park	Location	Fenced?	Small/large dog areas	Hours	Amenities
Buncombe County Sports Park Dog Park	58 Apac Circle, Asheville, NC 28806	Yes	Yes, separate enclosures	Park open 8 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. daily; dog park closed Mondays	Disc golf, soccer fields, playground, walking trail, restrooms on site
Riverbend Park Temporary Dog Park	100 Bleachery Blvd, off Swannanoa River Rd, Asheville	Yes, temporary fencing	Yes, separate areas	Daily, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.	Interim facility while the city repairs storm-damaged parks
River Walk Dog Park	205 NC Hwy 9, Black Mountain, NC 28711	Yes	Not separated	Dawn to dusk	Small enclosure, riverside walking trail, picnic tables nearby
Wagbar	320 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville, NC 28787	Yes	Not separated	Mon-Fri 12-9 p.m.; Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-9 p.m.	25,000 sq ft, pool, ramps, tunnels, wash stations, bar and food truck; paid, vaccination proof required

Conclusion

Four verified off-leash dog parks, right now, across Asheville and Buncombe County: one county park with size-separated fencing in west Asheville, one temporary city stopgap in East Asheville, one small-town option in Black Mountain, and one paid private dog bar in Weaverville. Two more, Azalea Park and French Broad River Park, are rebuilding and worth bookmarking for whenever they reopen. Wherever you land, confirm current hours before you go, since a maintenance closure or a construction update can change a plan fast.

None of this is static. Parks that flood can reopen ahead of schedule, and a fence that needs repair can close a facility for a week without much notice. This list was built from the official source for each park and the venue's own site, not from an aggregator that has not been updated since before Helene.

Two things worth reading before you go. Asheville summers are hotter than the mountain setting suggests, and an open fenced field offers no shade, so summer heat safety for pets covers what to watch for. And if your dog is more a leashed-trail type than an off-leash type, beaches and national parks with dogs covers where leashed dogs are welcome across public land.

Still need somewhere to stay while you explore the mountains? Search verified pet-friendly hotels, or browse the full guide library.

Frequently asked questions

How many off-leash dog parks are there in Asheville and Buncombe County right now? Four: Buncombe County Sports Park Dog Park in west Asheville, the temporary dog park at Riverbend Park in Asheville, River Walk Dog Park in Black Mountain, and Wagbar, a paid private dog bar in Weaverville.

Does Richmond Hill Park have an off-leash dog area? No. Richmond Hill Park, at 300 Richmond Hill Drive in Asheville, is a wooded park with unpaved trails and a disc golf course, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but it has no fenced or designated off-leash area. The city also warns that storm hazards remain there and trail conditions have changed, so watch for temporary signage and fencing.

What happened to the dog parks at Azalea Park and French Broad River Park? Both are closed after Tropical Storm Helene damage in 2024. The City of Asheville states that French Broad River Park is closed due to the effects of the storm, and that Helene significantly damaged Azalea Road, Gashes Creek Bridge, and Azalea Park itself. Neither site has a published reopening date.

Is Wagbar free to visit? Entry for humans 18 and older is free. Dogs need a paid day pass or membership plus proof of current rabies, distemper (DHPP), and bordetella vaccinations, and must be at least 6 months old and spayed or neutered.

Do the public dog parks require proof of vaccination? The county and city off-leash parks do not post a formal vaccination check at the gate, but keeping your dog current on core vaccines is standard practice at any off-leash space where dogs mix. Wagbar, as a private venue, does require documented proof before your dog can enter.

Is there a temporary dog park at Aston Park in Asheville? No. Some directories list one, but as of this writing the City of Asheville's only current off-leash facility is the temporary dog park at Riverbend Park. Aston Park does not have a dog park.

Sources

Park hours, fencing, and closures change, and several Asheville facilities are still being rebuilt after Helene. Confirm current status with the managing authority before you drive out.