Margate Park

4921 Marine Drive, Chicago

This is one of the nicest Dog Parks I have visited, have visited 12 so far & have 3 to go before I will have visited all 15 of the City of Chicago Park District Dog Parks.
Margate Park, AKA PupTown has a tree protected by a circular fence that allows for a wide circular path should your dog want to run in circles chasing or being chased. They also just planted a River Birch in a corner of the park, one of my favorite trees.
A weather protected bulletin board shares information about requirements to be in the park as well as signs to watch for in the dog interaction. Nice surface with adequate gravel areas for our pups. Overall this has been one of the cleanest and most cared for City of Chicago Dog Parks I have visited. This gets a four paw rating from Tucker.
There is a volunteer organization that meets and cares for this park and it shows, this should be a model for the other 14 Dog Parks in Chicago.

Lake Shore East Dog Park, Chicago

(West of Lake Shore Drive, south of Wacker Drive, and North of Randolph Street.)
Chicago, IL 60611

Lake Shore East Dog Park serves the residents of the New East Side of Chicago and is one of the nicer dog parks I have visited. Picturesque and just a great place to hang, it is like an island in the middle of skyscrapers and has a pleasant relaxing feel, kinda nice to sit out in the open in a beautiful park and enjoy to greenery and landscaping.

It rates a “4 Paw” signature by me. The dog park part of the park is relatively small, but then I have a big dog….

Montrose Beach Dog Park

Grant Park Dog Park aka Grant Bark Park

Chicago Park District Dog Park is located west of Columbus Drive, east of the railroad tracks and about 900 south, just south of the tennis courts. One entrance is on the south; near the 11th St. Bridge to Michigan Ave., the other entrance is on the east side just south of the tennis courts.

Grant Bark Park is clean, well kept and larger than many of the other Dog Parks in Chicago. It has been described in a review as the “Mercedes Benz” of Dog Parks. There is a volunteer organization known as www.southloopdogpac.org that oversees this park as well as the other South Loop Dog Park located at 14th and Wabash, Coliseum Park. This group not only maintains two dog parks in the South Loop, they also publish a monthly on-line publication – Fetch. All the reviews I could find about this park were overwhelmingly positive. Dog owners come from quite a distance because this Dog Park is huge, friendly, well maintained and just a great place to hang out with your dog. Of course this Dog Park has all the amenities one would expect, a large part of the park is paved for all the running, double entry gate, a water fountain for dogs large and small, a shaded tree area, bags to pick up after your pooch, benches for the humans, and last but not least a large gravel area for the dogs to do their thing.

Thanks to all the people that have and are volunteering their time and resources to help dog owners and non-dog owners enjoy this area and the wonderful Park District Dog Park known as Grant Bark Park. Chicago, a city with the greatest dog parks in the world.

Coliseum Park, Chicago Dog Park

Challenger Park, Chicago Dog Park

Wiggly Field – Chicago Dog Park

Wiggly Field 2654 N. Sheffield

This Dog Park sometimes referred to as a “DFA” (Dog Friendly Area) was the first official dog park according to the Chicago Park District, the city organization that administers DFAs. This first dog park was the result of many hours of work by local residents and an organization known as D.A.W.G (Dog Advisory Work Group) was born with Stacy Hawk and Cynthia Bathhurst as co-founders. Both of these ladies put in untold unpaid hours and today many of us benefit from their visionary efforts. Many thanks to the group from a local neighborhood association that also donated their time and raised money to make this dream come true.

This park was then the model for other DFAs to follow; today there are 15 DFAs that are part of the Chicago Park District. Many other cities and community organizations continue to contact D.A.W.G. asking for information about how to set up dog parks in their neighborhoods.

Wiggly Field has features like double gates to thwart escape artist, doggy water fountains, informational kiosks and baggies to clean up after your dog. Many of the DFAs have similar features, but each park is just a bit different.

When I visited Wiggly Field with my dog on a hot July Sunday we had a great time. Apparently some volunteers supplied and filled a kiddie swimming pool for the doggies. The other visitors were all very friendly and the facility was clean. It does get a bit nosy when the “el” goes by, but the dogs seem to get used to it and soon ignore the roar.

Take a peek at the short video to view this Dog Friendly Location.