Dog Park in Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian's public dog park is the Sebastian Bark Park at 245 Keen Terrace, a free City of Sebastian facility where dogs run off leash inside fenced yards (City of Sebastian).

The Bark Park sits just off Keen Terrace near South Wimbrow Drive, west of U.S. 1 in the residential grid of the Sebastian Highlands. The city facility page lists the street address as 245 Keen Terrace, Sebastian, FL 32958. Vero Beach 32963 described it in October 2022 as the 7.5-acre Sebastian Bark Park on Keen Terrace and counted it as one of only two public off-leash parks in Indian River County, the other being the 5-acre Vero Beach Dog Park on Indian River Drive (Vero Beach 32963).

That scarcity shapes how dog owners in Sebastian plan a day out. County parks, county beaches, the Pelican Island refuge and the beach at Sebastian Inlet State Park all bar dogs, so the Keen Terrace yards and a short list of town beaches to the south carry most of the load. The table below collects the places near Sebastian where the rules were checked against official or news sources on October 11, 2026.

At Sebastian Bark Park dogs may run without a leash inside the fenced yards but must be leashed on the walking trail around the pond (City of Sebastian).

The city lists watering facilities, sally-port entries, separate small and large dog sections and shade structures for owners at the Keen Terrace park. A sally-port is a double-gated entry: a dog is unclipped in the small pen between gates, so a loose dog inside cannot slip out when the outer gate opens. The size split dates from opening day. When the Bark Park opened in 2009, the small-dog yard was for small ones under 25 pounds, and small dogs could use the large yard while large dogs stayed out of the small one (Vero News).

Owner amenities at the Bark Park came in stages. By May 2012 the City of Sebastian had installed or planned fencing to enlarge the small dog yard, eight live oaks, benches, an information kiosk, a pavilion, a bridge over a corner of the pond and a trail surface, on a park budget that had grown to $100,000 (Vero News). The city page does not post opening hours, and the county license rule still applies on Keen Terrace: Indian River County ordinance requires a current rabies vaccination and an annual county license for every dog and cat (Indian River County Animal Control).

Two practical points follow from the layout of the Keen Terrace site. The pond trail is the only leashed ground, so a dog that is not reliable off leash can still get exercise on the loop around the water at the Sebastian Bark Park. And because the yards sit on low, flat Highlands ground, Vero News reported in February 2010 that users complained of mud after rain because of possible drainage issues (Vero News).

No beach in Sebastian or on the Indian River County beaches nearest to it allows dogs; the closest dog-friendly sand is in the town of Indian River Shores, south of Wabasso on the barrier island.

Indian River County does not allow dogs on its beaches, Spectrum News 13 reported on July 15, 2026, in a list that also named Vero Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Cape Canaveral and Canaveral National Seashore (Spectrum News 13). The county rule is printed on its beach park pages: Wabasso Beach Park, the nearest staffed county beach to Sebastian, lists No pets permitted within any County Park under County Ordinance 205.03.22 (Indian River County). The beach at Sebastian Inlet State Park is also closed to pets under Florida State Parks rules (Florida State Parks).

The exceptions are two small barrier island towns. The Town of Indian River Shores allows leashed dogs on the beaches within town limits, and off leash by permit only between sunrise and 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. until sunset (Town of Indian River Shores). The annual off-leash permit comes from the Indian River Shores Public Safety Department at 772-231-2451, and the town says the dog must come along to get it. The Town of Orchid, between Wabasso and the Shores, also allows leashed dogs and, for permit holders, off-leash dogs with time restrictions (Spectrum News 13).

A county dog beach has been proposed but not built. In October 2022 the Indian River County Commission voted 4-1 to have staff explore an off-leash beach park at Seagrape Trail or Turtle Trail, both in the Indian River Shores area (Vero Beach 32963). The July 2026 Spectrum News 13 list still shows Indian River County among the governments that keep dogs off the sand.

For a true off-leash beach, owners in Sebastian drive out of the county. St. Lucie County runs Walton Rocks Beach / Dog Park at 6700 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, an off-leash park on 24 acres of beach open dawn until dusk; a dog that bothers others must go on a leash no longer than eight feet (St. Lucie County). North of the Brevard line, Vero News reported in May 2018 that Brevard County's 72 mile shoreline had one 700-foot dog-friendly stretch, at Canova Beach Park near Indian Harbour Beach, where all dogs must be leashed and wear tags showing current license and vaccinations (Vero News). Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River County, Town of Indian River Shores and St. Lucie County websites.

Near Sebastian, leashed dogs are welcome at Donald MacDonald Park and Campground on Roseland Road and in the day-use areas and campground at Sebastian Inlet State Park, but not in most county parks or at Pelican Island refuge.

Donald MacDonald Park and Campground, on the Saint Sebastian River off Roseland Road, is the county exception: Indian River County states that pets are allowed but must be on a 6 foot leash at all times (Indian River County). Every other county park checked carries the County Ordinance 205.03.22 ban, including Commissioner Fran B. Adams Park, the county sports park on CR 512 in Sebastian (Indian River County).

At Sebastian Inlet State Park, domestic pets are permitted in designated day-use areas on a handheld leash six feet or shorter, owners must pick up after them, and pets are not permitted on beaches or playgrounds or in bathing areas, cabins, park buildings or concession facilities (Florida State Parks). Well-behaved pets are allowed in the park campground on the inlet, though still not on the beach.

On the Indian River Lagoon north of town, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states that no pets are allowed at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, only service animals (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). That rule covers the boardwalk and trails off Jungle Trail, so a Pelican Island visit and a Bark Park run are separate trips.

Sebastian Bark Park opened with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. on a Saturday in early August 2009 and took its name from student suggestions in February 2010 (Vero News).

Mayor Richard Gillmor and City Councilwoman Dale Simchick spoke at the 2009 opening about dog events at the Keen Terrace park, and City Manager Al Minner said the city had not yet discussed a name. Residents who pushed for the project were already forming a support group to raise money for amenities the City of Sebastian could not buy right away.

The name came from Sebastian schoolchildren. After taking suggestions from area students, the Sebastian Parks and Recreation committee ranked them and unanimously supported Sebastian Bark Park, which beat out Central Bark and Paws Stadium; City Manager Al Minner endorsed the choice and the Sebastian City Council approved it unanimously (Vero News, February 2010). The same report said dozens of dogs used the Keen Terrace yards regularly.

At the park's second birthday in August 2011, sod had finally taken root and the City of Sebastian had plans for a permanent restroom, with a playground and a walking trail along the pond in the works (Vero News, August 2011). In May 2012 the Sebastian City Council unanimously approved an extra $25,000 requested by the Recreation Advisory Committee to finish the restroom, after City Manager Al Minner had suggested shelving it in March for lack of money (Vero News, May 2012).