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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Outdoors -> Dog Parks
 WEEKENDS WITH FIDO: Colorado Dog Parks Unleashed
By Heather Grimshaw
When you ask people how often they take their dogs to dog
parks they may smirk, or shuffle a foot or two and blush. Some will tell you
they “go a little bit overboard when it comes to the dog thing” and then
admit that they go at least four times a week and drive up to 30 minutes each
way to get to the best parks. They stay about an hour and, they say, trips to
dog parks are usually made in addition to walks around the neighborhood. They
tell you that the dog parks give their dogs some time to run, socialize with
other dogs and play.
 But some dog parks across the Front Range are more
than dressed up dog runs. They’re social breeding grounds, gathering places
for like-minded people who love their dogs with abandon and aren’t afraid to
show it.
Take, for example, Gwen Klebba, a real estate consultant,
who threw a third birthday party for Barley this summer at the Stapleton Dog
Park in Denver. She sent out invitations to about 20 of Barley’s friends,
baked individual cakes for each guest with cream cheese frosting and rainbow
sprinkles, filled goodie bags, and strung streamers.
“Everyone says I have too much time on my hands, that we
need to have kids,” Klebba said when asked about reactions to the annual
birthday parties she throws. “But he’ll always be my first born.”
Similar to taking kids to the park to play with friends or
dangle on the swings, Front Range residents are showing up in impressive numbers
to dog parks that span the gamut from lush green spaces to urban squares with
trampled grass and little more to offer than a diverse array of dogs. And in
places where there is currently no dog park available, research is underway. In Washington
Park, for example, politicians are polling residents to gauge interest in
finding an appropriate place for dogs to roam. Parker is also taking its
community’s temperature on the possibility and the list goes on.
 As two designated dog freaks, my husband and I have been
going to dog parks for the last three years, stumbling across our first park in
Boulder, and are thrilled to see the number of options in Colorado increase. In
fact, most cities now have dog parks that are advertised on websites. The City
of Arvada is considering a 20-acre dog park near the Arvada/Blunn Reservoir
that will offer an array of entertainment and
training options. The City of Golden opened a dog park, at the Grampsas Sports
Complex, and may be considering future spots, according to city officials. In
September, the City of Golden will host the second annual Dog
Day at The Splash, an opportunity for dogs to swim at the water park before
the season’s close and raise money for dog parks and the local shelter. And
while the number of dog parks continues to increase, awareness of the parks
seems to be limited to the tried-and-true dog lovers who search the web and ask
other dog park visitors where they’ve been. The web is rich with information
about where to take dogs, including a site called The
Dog Fun Directory, where you can find lists by state.
 In metro Denver, there are at least seven places for dogs
to be let loose. Two of our favorites are the Chatfield
and Cherry Creek Reservoirs, where visitors pay a $6 park fee, drive to the
off-leash locations and watch as at least 40 dogs at any given time frolic
through tall grass, dip and dive into the cool water that runs in a stream
through the park, and mingle with dogs of all shapes and sizes. Although the
decision becomes more difficult as time passes and more parks open, Cherry Creek
is the nicest dog park we have been to in the metro Denver area because of the
water and the trails that we can walk while Maggie and Mollie (our black labs)
play. We have now been to at least six parks across the region and realize that
every dog owner has a favorite. If only we could ask the dogs!
Klebba prefers Stapleton to any other park though she does
enjoy taking Barley to Chatfield so that he can swim. But her neighbors take
their dogs to Stapleton at around the same time and they often go to the park
together. “It’s all about socializing,” she said. “Dog parks in general
are a great way to socialize for yourself and your dog. You end of recognizing
and getting to know the same people.”
 In addition to great exercise for the pooch, dog parks
provide a unique opportunity to people watch and see different dogs interact.
After sampling a few new parks for this story, we decided
that newcomers should consider a few benchmarks when selecting a park. Locally
dog parks offer water of some sort, size is an important consideration since you
have anywhere from 2 to 20-acre land parcels from which to choose, and grass is
another important factor. For example, Berkeley Park in Denver, located off of
I-70 at the intersection of Sheridan and 46th Streets (near the
Amusement Park), had more dirt than grass when we visited in July. At about 3
in the afternoon it was packed with a myriad of breeds from Great Danes and
Labrador Retrievers to Basset Hounds and Shar-Peis. The park was jumping with
dogs eager to sniff, roll and play.
A ground rule for most dog parks is friendliness, dog tags
on hand, and the willingness to pick up after your dog though, judging from the
piles that we sidestepped while inside Berkeley’s ball-field sized park,
several owners were shirking their duties. Grumbles and growls prompted two
ladies to pick up their charges. One was a small poodle who seemed bewildered by
the wide spaces before her, though the noises were simply evidence of play as
several dogs circled the perimeter. Maggie and Mollie hung close by though they
did enjoy a few romps with a Rottweiler who trailed them until we left the park
and a Golden Retriever puppy who pounced and flounced in front of them until
they paid him some mind. As we left the park, Jim, my husband, commented that it
was “obviously a very heavily used park,” though we both agreed that, on a
wag scale, it merited a two.
 A few days later we headed to the Golden
dog park at the east foot of North Table Mesa. We parked at the edge of a
baseball field and walked by three diamonds before climbing a small hill and
entering the dog park, a shaded, hilly area with a small stream running around
the perimeter and a park bench and table for owners/guardians to wait and watch.
“What a difference” was one of the first things that came out of my mouth as
we walked around the park, which we had to ourselves at that hour of the day
(around 5 pm) and watched Maggie and Mollie dart in and out of bent branches and
tall blades of grass, emerging from the water with ears flapping, tails wagging.
It was a wet day in July so there were plenty of mosquitoes buzzing around the
small pools of standing water but there were several areas of green patches of
grass and a natural grace to the park that made us feel as though we had
stumbled onto a private jewel. A neighbor tells me that several Greyhounds
frequent the Golden park, which is a treat for Gatsby, her graceful and friendly
dog who she can let off leash only when he is in confined spaces because of his
curiosity.
 In comparison to the Golden and Denver dog parks, Stapleton
was designed to appeal to four-legged visitors. Fire hydrants dot the park,
which is littered with tennis balls that we assumed were provided by the city.
Perhaps, however, friendly dogs have left them for their return visits. Two
water fountains, one for the dogs and one for their people, were placed at the
turn-style entrance to the park, which hosted about 20 dogs during a half hour
span in July when we visited. After checking out every inch of the park, which
had nicely manicured and green grass in spots, Maggie and Mollie checked out a
few of the other dogs while we watched their owners as they watched from
different distances, asking whether the dogs were “okay” and telling them to
“go play”. One, tiny dog bounded into the park with her owner racing behind
her yelling, “Are you excited to be back, Pumpkin?” Meanwhile, three large
dogs circled each other in the center of the park. Along the east side of the
park there is a covered area with tables where several couples were seated. One
man continually leaned across the table to bark out at his dog, “You be nice,
Rufus!” as the Rhodesian Ridgeback sniffed and grumbled at a Bernese Mountain
dog and four other interlopers. We saw single men (alone, perhaps not indicative
of marital status), couples, several women together and other mixtures of people
milling around the park. Saplings indicate the future potential for shade and a
few mature trees provide some respite from the sun, which beat down on the
mixture of green and brown grass at the park.
At each dog park, with the exception of Golden, we watched
as people entered, waved and approached familiar faces. It reminded me of my
routine walks around the neighborhood. We see the same people: Neighbors with a
dog leash in hand, bags at the ready as they walk on sidewalks, straddling the
pavement with their dogs in tow. To spice up the routine, however, more Front
Range residents are loading their dogs and driving to several off-leash
locations that have opened in Colorado. Dog parks designed for off-leash
enjoyment, socialization and a break from the normal, walk around the
neighborhood. And just as the scenery around a neighborhood depends on where you
live, dog park experiences can be as subjective. Sample a few parks closest
to your house and you will quickly understand why some dog lovers will drive 20
even 40 miles round trip to arrive at a lush park.
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