Hundeauslaufgebiet Jungfernheide

The Jungfernheide dog run area is located west of Bernauer Straße and north of the Waldidyll settlement in Tegeler Forst. It is pure forest land without a fence, where dogs are allowed to run off-leash as long as they remain recallable at all times. Do not confuse it with the fenced dog meadow in Volkspark Jungfernheide next door.

Forest Area West of Bernauer Straße

The official demarcation sounds sober and is helpful for once: the area is located west of Bernauer Straße and north of the Waldidyll settlement. This refers to a piece of Tegeler Forst, accessible via Kamener Weg, and together with the area in Frohnau, Reinickendorf thus has around 170 hectares of forest dog run area. Anyone standing here for the first time should know how such an area in Berlin’s forest works: It is only considered a dog run area if it is marked by signs at the access paths. If there is no sign, a leash is required. There is no fence and there should not be one, because enclosed areas and designated nature reserves are explicitly not part of the dog run area. With 2.49 dogs per 100 inhabitants, Reinickendorf has the second-highest dog density in Berlin after Spandau, and this is quite noticeable on nice afternoons, even if visitors are well spread out across the extensive woodland.

Two Areas, One Name, Two Completely Different Rules

It’s worth avoiding confusion because it can be expensive. In addition to the forest area, there is a fenced dog run area of 9,186 square meters in Volkspark Jungfernheide at Heckerdamm 260, which is operated by the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. This is a different area with a different operator, even if both bear the name Jungfernheide. For the forest, Paragraph 23 of the State Forest Act applies: Anyone who allows a dog to roam freely in forest areas acts unlawfully, except in areas designated and marked with signs at the accesses. Fines can range up to 10,000 Euros. The Berlin Forests state it concisely: Otherwise, a leash is mandatory in the forest without exception, with a maximum length of two meters. Within the dog run area, the dog may only run freely if it remains within its owner’s sphere of influence and is recallable at all times. Digging holes is forbidden, and chasing wildlife is even a criminal offense. Berlin does not have a special rule for the breeding and nesting season; the leash requirement applies all year round. Incidentally, there is no fixed catalogue of fines for leash violations in Berlin; the districts decide on a case-by-case basis.