Dog Parks in Denver

Dog parks, neighborhood by neighborhood

• Central Park, Lowry & Green Valley Ranch (5): Green Valley Ranch East Dog Park, Greenway Dog Park, Lowry Dog Park and more. All dog parks in Central Park, Lowry & Green Valley Ranch
• Aurora (4): Grandview Dog Park, Cherry Creek State Park Dog Off-Leash Area, Bicentennial Park Off-Leash Area and more. All dog parks in Aurora
• Englewood (4): Cushing Park Dog Park, Canine Corral Dog Park, Duncan Park Off-Leash Area and more. All dog parks in Englewood
• Littleton (3): Bark Park at David A. Lorenz Regional Park, Wynetka Ponds Bark Park, and Chatfield State Park Dog Off-Leash Area. All dog parks in Littleton
• RiNo, Five Points & Globeville (3): Fuller Dog Park, Little Box Car Dog Park, and Sonny Lawson Park Dog Park. All dog parks in RiNo, Five Points & Globeville
• Westminster (3): Big Dry Creek Dog Park, Westminster Hills Open Space Off-Leash Area, and Little Dry Creek Dog Park. All dog parks in Westminster
• Golden (2): Tony Grampsas Dog Park and Homer's Run Dog Park at Ulysses Park.
• Southwest Denver & Barnum (2): Barnum Dog Park and Sanderson Gulch Dog Park.
• Arvada (1): West Arvada Dog Park.
• Capitol Hill & Uptown (1): Zeckendorf Plaza Pilot Dog Park.
• Congress Park, City Park & Park Hill (1): Carla Madison Dog Park.
• Lakewood (1): Forsberg Off-Leash Dog Park.
• LoDo, Downtown & Union Station (1): Skyline Park Pop-Up Dog Park.
• LoHi, Highland & Platte Street (1): Railyard Dog Park.
• Sloan's Lake, Jefferson Park & Edgewater (1): Paco Sanchez Pop-Up Dog Park.
• Southeast Denver & Tech Center (1): Kennedy Dog Park.
• Sunnyside, Berkeley & Tennyson (1): Berkeley Dog Park.

Denver's city dog parks

Denver Parks and Recreation runs the city's dog parks, such as Berkeley Dog Park, Kennedy Dog Park, Barnum Dog Park, Carla Madison Dog Park, Fuller Dog Park, Green Valley Ranch East Dog Park and more. They are the only places in Denver's parks where your dog may be off leash. Most are open from sunrise to sundown, and Railyard Dog Park at 19th and Little Raven, the one with lights, is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The city's rules are stricter than in many places (Denver Parks and Recreation):

• Your dog needs a Denver license and a current rabies tag, and must be spayed or neutered unless you have an intact permit.
• Bring no more than two dogs. Handlers must be 16 or older, and children 10 and under are not allowed.
• No food for people in the dog park. Leash your dog on the way in and out, and pick up after it.

Big off-leash areas in the state parks

Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs two large off-leash areas south and east of the city. Chatfield has 69 fenced acres with ponds where dogs can swim, and Cherry Creek has 107 acres along the creek. Both need a state park entrance pass plus a dog off-leash pass, $3 a day or $25 a year, for one handler with up to three dogs (Colorado Parks and Wildlife).

Around the metro area

Westminster Hills is a 420-acre off-leash open space in Westminster, only partly fenced, so your dog needs a good recall. Golden, Arvada, Lakewood, Aurora, Englewood and the South Suburban district around Littleton run their own dog parks, and their rules differ; each park page says what applies.

After the park, find a dog-friendly café or a brewery with a dog-friendly patio.