Aug 26, 2026

Where Dogs Are Not Allowed in New Orleans

The most common mistake is assuming an open park means a park open to a dog. In City Park it does not. Here is the complete list of restrictions.

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

New Orleans, Louisiana11 min readPet Care & Services

The most common mistake people make with a dog in New Orleans is assuming that a park being open means the whole park is open to a dog. In City Park, it is not.

This guide is the list of places and situations where a dog is barred, restricted or conditional, drawn only from what the operators themselves publish. Where a source is silent, we say so rather than guess, because "no rule found" and "allowed" are not the same thing.

The short version

Place or situation	Status
City Park, outside open areas and the dog park	Not allowed
City Park and Audubon Park lagoons	No swimming or wading, for anyone
NOLA City Bark, without a permit	Not allowed, no exceptions
NOLA City Bark, intact dogs	Not allowed, even with a city intact permit
NOLA City Bark, dogs under six months	Not allowed
NOLA City Bark, more than three dogs per household	Not allowed inside the fence
Anywhere in Orleans Parish, off leash	Not allowed, except a designated dog run
Tethered in a yard	Illegal
In a parked car	Never, per the city's animal control agency
RTA buses, streetcars and ferries	No published policy either way
Audubon Park, supporting a feral cat colony	Prohibited

City Park: the clause people miss

City Park Conservancy manages what its rules and policies page calls "an open urban public park comprised of over 1,300 acres". Its animal rule reads, verbatim:

"Pets must remain on leash at all times and in possession by the owner. Owners must pick up after their pets and properly dispose of waste. Pets are only allowed in open areas and the NOLA City Bark dog park."

That third sentence is the restriction. Dogs are allowed in open areas and in the dog park. Not in the park generally.

The rules do not enumerate which spaces count as open and which do not, so the safe reading is: lawns, paths and the dog park yes; anything with a gate, a ticket desk or a turnstile no. City Park contains a botanical garden, an amusement park, a sculpture garden, an art museum, a children's museum, a golf course and a tennis centre, among others. Each of those is a facility, and the rules note that they "may be supplemented by rules applicable to individual City Park facilities."

If you are standing outside a building wondering, the answer is almost certainly no. Ask at the door rather than walking in.

Water, in both big parks

Neither park lets anything into the lagoons, and on a hot day the lagoon is the most tempting object in either one.

City Park. "Swimming or wading in fountains, lagoons, pools or water structures within City Park is prohibited." Also: "Personal boating and recreational watercraft are not currently permitted on City Park waterways." Fishing is allowed with a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries licence and is catch and release only.

Audubon Park. Its rules page prohibits "Kayaking, canoeing, sport boating, fishing, swimming in the lagoons, ponds or bodies of water in Audubon Park." Fishing is permitted only in the Mississippi from Audubon Riverview Park.

These are health rules as much as tidiness rules. A warm southern lagoon holds whatever is in it, and both operators have taken the choice out of your hands.

NOLA City Bark: five ways to be turned away

The city's only permit-only dog park has more exclusions than any other single place on this list. From its own page and its rules document:

No permit, no entry. Verbatim: "NOLA City Bark is a permit-only dog park. You and your dog(s) must have a permit to enter the dog park. NO exceptions will be made."

Dogs under six months. The eligibility list requires a dog to "Be at least six months old".

Intact dogs. Dogs must "Be spayed or neutered". This is worth pausing on. Orleans Parish permits you to keep an intact dog if you hold an intact dog permit from the Louisiana SPCA. City Bark does not accept that permit as a substitute. So a dog can be entirely legal in New Orleans and still barred from its main dog park.

Heartworm positive dogs. Dogs must "Be heartworm-negative". Heartworm is endemic on the Gulf Coast and the Louisiana SPCA maintains a page on heartworm disease, so this is a real gate rather than a formality.

A fourth dog. Verbatim from the rules: "Limit of three dogs per household at one time within the fenced dog park area."

And two more, about people rather than dogs. Children under 8 are barred entirely, at any time. And the permit holder has to be the person who brings the dog: "The permit holder must be the person to accompany the dog to the park."

What you cannot bring into the dog park

Separate from who gets in, there is a list of what does not.

Certain collars. Spike, choke, electric and prong collars are all prohibited inside the fence. If that is your walking collar, bring a flat one to swap into at the gate.

All food. Verbatim: "Dog treats, rawhide chews, human food or glass containers." The park page also states "No Food or Drinks Allowed". Which means no training treats, and that changes how you manage recall in there.

Most toys. Verbatim: "Dog toys with the exception of balls or Frisbees." A ball or a frisbee is fine. A rope tug is not.

Wheels and sports gear. Footballs, baseballs, soccer, rugby and volleyballs, bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards, drones, strollers and scooters.

Tobacco, vapour, alcohol, illegal drugs, weapons and firearms.

Off leash, anywhere

The Louisiana SPCA holds the city's animal control contract, and its Animal Control FAQ answers "Does my dog have to be on a leash?" with one word: "Yes."

There is no published exception. Not for voice control, not for an empty neutral ground at dawn, not for a quiet stretch of levee. Audubon cites the source as "City Ordinance Chapter 18 Article I Section 18-14"; we name the section because Audubon names it, and we do not quote its text because New Orleans publishes its code through a platform that returns identical pages for real and invented sections.

The only lawful off-leash ground in Orleans Parish, as far as official sources go, is NOLA City Bark and the dog run at Wisner Playground, which NORDC lists as an amenity without publishing any hours, rules or permit requirement for it. Phone 504.658.3052 before assuming anything about Wisner.

Tethered in your own yard

Illegal. Verbatim from the FAQ, answering whether a dog can be kept on a chain: "No. It's illegal to tether (tie up/chain) a dog."

No time limit, no exception for supervision, no allowance for a runner line. This is stricter than the cities that cap tethering at a number of hours, and in a hot and humid climate it removes the single most common setting for a heat incident.

If a dog does live outside, the shelter standard is specific: five solid sides, four walls and a roof, on ground free of debris, waste and standing water, raised so water cannot get in, and large enough for the dog to stand, turn and lie down without touching the sides. An indoor crate does not qualify.

In a parked car

The Louisiana SPCA's weather precautions page puts it in capitals: "NEVER, under any circumstances, leave your pet in a parked car! The temperature inside a car can reach 120 degrees in only a few minutes."

The source uses a degree symbol; the word is ours.

And there is a second reason beyond the dog's safety. Louisiana's Good Samaritan Law, Act No. 360, effective 1 August 2018, gives a stranger immunity from liability for property damage or trespass to a vehicle during a necessary rescue of an animal in distress. The Louisiana SPCA publishes the procedure they should follow: search a thirty-foot radius for you, call 911, enter with as little damage as possible, leave a note, and stay with the animal. Which means someone may lawfully break your window, and be right to.

Public transit: unknown, which is not the same as allowed

We read four pages on the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority's site: the Know Before You Go hub, How to Ride, the frequently asked questions, and the Code of Conduct page. None mentions pets, animals, dogs, carriers or leashes.

The Code of Conduct page explains why: the policy does not exist yet. Verbatim: "RTA is in the initial stages of developing an official Code of Conduct Policy for riders and employees." Its list of intended topics includes "ADA-related policies including service animals".

So there is no published permission and no published prohibition. In practice that means the decision sits with the operator in front of you, and you should phone customer service before building a day around it.

Feral cat colonies, inside Audubon Park

An unusual one, and worth knowing if you feed cats.

Audubon prohibits, verbatim: "Feeding feral cats is prohibited. Establishing or supporting TNR feral colonies in the Park is prohibited. To report abandoned pets or injured wildlife contact Audubon Security."

Meanwhile the Louisiana SPCA states that "Orleans Parish laws allow cats to roam freely" and runs a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return programme across the parish. Both bodies have authority over what they describe, and we are not going to pretend one overrules the other. Feeding a colony is lawful in New Orleans and not permitted inside Audubon Park.

Wildlife feeding, which differs by park

City Park. "Please do not feed the wildlife."

Audubon Park. Ducks only, and only certain foods: "Please only feed ducks lettuce, oats, or seeds. Bread is low in protein in can cause health issues for birds." The typographical slip is in the original.

For a dog owner the relevant part is not the birds' diet, it is that fed waterfowl come closer to people. A defensive goose and a dog on a six-foot lead is a predictable problem.

Animals New Orleans will not let you own at all

Not a place restriction, but it belongs on a list of what is not allowed. From the Animal Control FAQ, the prohibited list includes monkeys, raccoons, wild-caught skunks, wolves, coyotes, foxes, big cats, crocodilians, wild-state tarantulas, exotic hybrids and roosters. Snakes are limited: nothing venomous, nothing constricting, and nothing that will grow beyond three feet as an adult.

Dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, and pocket pets including hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas, sugar gliders and hedgehogs are all legal.

The short list to remember

Leash on, everywhere except a designated dog run.

In City Park, open areas and the dog park only.

No lagoon, in either park.

No dog in a parked car, at any temperature, for any length of time.

Phone before you assume, especially for transit and Wisner.

If you are visiting, choosing a base within walking distance of open park ground removes most of these questions rather than answering them. Our New Orleans hotel directory, our roundup of pet-friendly hotels in New Orleans and our list of questions to ask before booking a pet-friendly hotel are where to start.

Frequently asked questions

Are dogs allowed everywhere in City Park New Orleans? No. City Park's rules state that pets are only allowed in open areas and the NOLA City Bark dog park, and that individual facilities may have supplementary rules.

Can my dog swim in City Park or Audubon Park? No. Both parks prohibit swimming and wading in their lagoons, ponds and water features.

Can I go to NOLA City Bark without a permit? No. City Park states that no exceptions will be made.

Can an intact dog use NOLA City Bark? No. Dogs must be spayed or neutered. An Orleans Parish intact dog permit does not substitute for that.

Can I bring treats into NOLA City Bark? No. Dog treats, rawhide chews, human food and glass containers are all prohibited inside the fence.

Where can a dog be off leash in New Orleans? NOLA City Bark, with a permit, and the dog run at Wisner Playground, for which NORDC publishes no hours or rules. Everywhere else in Orleans Parish requires a leash.

Sources

Rules change. Check the operator's own page before a first visit.