Dog parks in Burlington

 Wag Park

King Road, north of North Service Road View map »
About 1 km north of North Service Road. As you drive up the winding road the park entrance is on the left just before the sharp right turn. The park is behind the model airplane field.

Park update: I just re-visited the park and I have to say it is looking much nicer already under the management of Mr. Elliot. There are many more garbage bins, some specifically for cigarette buts, the fence is fixed, the grass is cut, dead trees have been removed along with many dangerous metal poles that supported the dead trees. The entryway is cleaner and there is an additional box for poop bags. I'm impressed. Come take a look yourself!

Here's the old review:

Burlington's only fenced in dog park looks like it has seen better times. Every time I take my dog there I wonder how a prosperous city like Burlington can neglect their only dog park so badly. There is an oversized parking lot but it looks like a battlefield. Deep holes and uneven terrain make getting to the park quite a nightmare after a little rain. The gates at the park entrance are hard to open/close and you will walk in 6 inches of mud at times.

There are lots of other places in and around Burlington where you and your dog will have more fun. There are hard-working, dedicated people who try to keep the park nice but the city could really help out. What's a few thousand dollars to them?

The park itself is a medium sized square. There are no trees - the ones that got planted a while ago all died. The ground in general is not so bad, there is grass for the most part but it's far from ideal. But people come here anyways - probably because this is the only designated dog park in the city.

The people are nice enough and I never had problems with the dogs. There are enough benches to sit down and stay for a while. There is even a rain shelter. Looks all beat up but the roof doesn't leak. Poop bags are always available - yay!

Open all day. There is pretty much nothing around the park but there is a nice view to the Sky Bridge. What about membership? I saw a box that looked like it holds membership forms but I just don't care because the place is not worth paying for. Come on City of Burlington! Give our only park a makeover! Maybe fence off part of Central Park?

In case you're wondering, I live in Burlington so this (mostly negative) review is based on numerous visits to the park, if you don't agree with the above please send in your comments.

Central Park

Central Park is a typical city park surrounded by recreational facilities. It is not fenced in, but well maintained, has a baseball diamond, few soccer fields, a playground, even a maze.

Don't let your dog off the leash unless you can reliably call him back any time a baby stroller approches or a bicyclist goes by. Some people tend to be

pretty uptight when your dog runs up to kids playing ball, sniffs around and rolls over for a some petting time. Read more about [dog haters].

On weekend afternoons you can meet many other dogs but beware of the city inspector who comes around every now and then and give you a fine if your pooch

is not leashed. Don't give him a hard time, unless he really deserves it - he is just doing his job.

The park is clean, full of benched, trees and large open areas - perfect for picknics.

Cherry Hill

View map »

Cherry Hill is not a designated dog park but it's a wonderful place to take a walk with your dog(s). It's located near the Royal Botanical Gardens in east Hamilton off of Fairview Rd.

The parking lot is in good condition - you will need to pay for parking (in the summer only excluding weekdays? ..don't take my word on this)

First of all: there are no plastic bags available and the only garbage bin is at the entrance so here is what you need to do: bring a couple of bags with you and leave it on the side of the road after you picked up the poop and pick it up on your way back unless you want to walk around with poop in your hand:)

There is a sort of steep winding road down to the lake (river?). During wintertime wear proper shoes otherwise only your dog will be able to come up the hill:) When you reach the lake you can go straight onto the boardwalk or turn right. The trail on your right loops back to the boardwalk (it takes approx 20-30 minutes to walk around).

The boardwalk is my favourite area here: you can observe ducks, frogs, swans and all kinds of other animals in and around the swampy lake and in the wintertime it is the perfect place to feed birds. Bring a bagful of sunflower seeds and birds will eat off your hand in no time. They are used to dogs even but make sure that your dog doesn't try to catch them and the same goes for other animals: always make sure that you dog doesn't bother wildlife. There are signs that ask you to keep your dogs on a leash because they scare animals. I think a well behaved dog doesn't scare any animal any more than a deer running by so it all depends on your pooch.

You can easily spend a few hours here walking around on various trails - each are unique an beautiful for something else. Signage is not always in your face but that's probably because it would be impossible to get lost.

Overall, a beautiful place, one of my favourite unofficial dog parks around. (After Mount Nemo).

Greenwood Park

Kerncliffe Park

Kerns Road between North Service Rd. and Dundas St. View map »
Coming from the city drive up Kerns road. As soon as you pass the rumble strips the park is on your right just before the steep hill.

This is not a designated dog park but you can safely let your dog off leash because the trails are in the middle of a forest. Yes, this is not a park rather it's a few trails, no too long but not short either, with some steeper areas and some flat parts. There is free parking and even though the lot is not very big I have never seen it full.

The front end of the park has a few benches, a rain shelter, garbage bins - no poop bags - and washrooms. To the left there is a swampy area with a boardwalk on top - you can see todes, fish and all sorts of birds here but don't let you dog in the water because it's deep and not very clean. It's a swamp.

To the right the trails begin. Like I said earlier there are no poop bags but I wouldn't worry too much about what your dog leaves behind here - the deer, rabbits, racoons and other wildlife poops more than dogs - just make sure the "present" is not left on or near the trails.

Overall, this is a nice alternative to Wag Park on the edge of the city. Family friendly.