When humans talk about Minnesota, they don’t usually think of it as an active place to live, but rather a place that is frozen most of the year. Amazingly, our state almost always scores in the top five for fitness and health, and we are big on being outdoors year round! Going to the dog park is also a big activity here. In the Twin Cities metro area, there are some fifty dog parks! Some are big, some are small. Some are fenced, some partially, some are not at all. Some have ponds, some have woods, they are all very different. Since moving back from Germany seven years ago, we have tried out many different dog parks and have about four we go to. Our very favorite is Cleary Lake, but the Alimagnet Dog Park is one we go to sometimes in the winter when the pond is frozen.
Alimagnet Dog Park is special for several reasons. In 2005, it was voted one of the best dog parks in the nation by Dog Fancy Magazine. Some of the reasons for this are: it has a heated shelter for humans to stay warm in while dogs play, two large heated water bowls, it is lighted, so open until 10 pm all year, a separate area for small or elderly dogs, and a dog wash station (summer only). The park is run fully by donations, and they are constantly adding new features as money comes in. There are cute little dog house boxes all around the perimeter with poop bags, and garbage cans as well.
We go to this park when the pond is frozen as Mom said the water in the pond is disgusting and she doesn’t want us to go into it or drink it. We also go only during the day on weekdays when it isn’t real busy. Bailie and I don’t like a crowded dog park. There are always a few other dogs around to meet up with.
Bailie enjoys working on her tracking skills either with Mom or on her own.
Sometimes I like to sniff around in the wooded area. I know squirrels live here, but they don’t come out when dogs are around.
Once and a while, Bailie and I sniff an area together.
I am practicing my recall.
Sometimes I stand around like I own the dog park. Who goes there?
Bailie has a snowball beard because she always drags her beard in the snow tracking stuff.
Not only do we run like crazy and have a blast at the dog park, when we get back home to our warm house, we love to curl up in our beds and take a nice, long nap! The right dog park is a fun outing and a great way to expend some energy to stay fit!
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Sounds like a great place to gonand have a lovely afternoon !f
It is fun, but an hour is enough, then it is time to go back home.
I always stand in my park like I own it too.
Everyone needs to know who the boss is!
We can tell you love your park!! Hey, mama’s stepdaughter lived on Medicine Lake for a couple years, but has now bought a house off the lake, but still lives in Plymouth. She just LOVES it there! We have been to visit and found it to be wonderful too! xo Chloe and LadyBug
Mom grew up in Wayzata, so she knows that area. Gramma and Mom’s brother still live out that way. Minnesota is kind of a hidden gem. No one wants to come here, but when they do, they never want to leave.
Looks like you have an amazing time!
Lots of fun, fresh air, and exercise.
That looks like a wonderful dog park. We might be headed your way again in the spring so maybe you can show us around!
It is great in the winter! That would be fun if you were out this way! Let us know!
Wow you really have a Winter Wonderland. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
We wish there was more winter, but this December is kind of a dud! Hopefully we will get more cold and snow soon.
What a pawsome park. We have one dog park in our town. The Mom will not take me there because it has a reputation of fleas. Those darn bugs do not go away here in Florida unless we have a very cold winter with hard freezes. Bailie s so cute with her snow beard, and Emma, you own any real estate in which you are located! XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
I don’t own any real estate except for my dog beds. Mom has the house I live in, maybe that is joint property. I’m pretty good at borrowing from others 😉
Oh my huskies love the dog parks, especially in the winter. That is two of their favorite things – snow and parks! Although our park here closes sometimes during the winter season, because we get so much snow that literally, you could almost walk over top of the fence which is suppose to hold the dogs in! Ha!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Last winter our yard had so much snow and it drifted on one side so we could walk over the fence, but if we did we would be in the neighbors fenced yard, so it was alright. Our favorite dog park actually grooms the walking trails in the snow which is nice.
Wow, that looks like such a great park. We don’t have very many good ones near us so we don’t go very often. But if we had one like that we’d sure go more!
We have quite a few 15-20 mins from us, so it is nice. Mom is trying to go more again because of Bailie. We went a lot the first few years we lived here but then we “outgrew” that need and only went a few times a year. Now we try to go a few times a month.
Emma you are SO lucky to have such a grrrrreat Dawg Park close to you… We wish WE had on close to US..
We have so many dog parks and trails around, it is wonderful.
that looks like a great place to run
We do run and run.
What a fun dog park, I love it! I like when we are in an area that has a dog park. It’s nice for Torrey to get out and have a good play with other dogs.
I run from the other dogs, but it is still fun running freely in a different area.
What a fabulous dog park, looks like tons of fun. I like it when we can find a dog park so Torrey can romp and play with other dogs.
Wow, we’re really jealous of your dog park. Especially having a wooded area to explore in addition to the open areas.
And we’re with you–the best time to visit the dog park is when there are only a few dogs there.
Our four favs are all different. All are completely fenced. One is basically in a woods, one is more like a field, one is huge with tall grass, woods and lots of trails and this one is smaller with trees and grassy areas. We avoid the woods ones in the summer because Mom can’t see us and it makes her nervous when we race out of sight.
What a great post! We love dog parks too! Have to admit, Bailie looks pretty cute with that snow beard!! Have a great Friday Emma! your doodle friend Dash
I think she decorated it for the holidays with snowballs!
Hi Y’all!
Have a holly, jolly weekend!
Emma, since y’all moved from Germany, I can understand your tolerance for cold…my Human doesn’t do cold or wind…she usually ends up with a bad headache if we’re out too long in either…course she’s a thin skinned southern gal by birth, what can I tell you.
Long before my time my Human Papa was stationed in the mountains of Germany along the East/West border. He doesn’t think my Human Mama would survive there! She’s traveled there, but it was spring.
Merry Christmas!
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Actually, Germany was warmer than here in Minnesota. Mom really missed the frigid cold. She was born in MN and loves to feel herself freeze and getting buried in snow. Not all humans love it, especially those that did not grow up in the freezing cold. Bavaria in Germany had lots of snow, but wasn’t as cold as MN.
OMG!! “Great minds!” If you haven’t already, you MUST visit Dakota’s blog today! You will love it!
Haven’t made it there yet, reading is next on my list.
Now that is one awesome park! I’ve never seen a park with lights on it, I bet it would be awesome to go on a winter night with lots of snow.
It was perfect when we first moved back and stayed where there was no fenced yard. We could go after work and it was lit up. 99.9% of parks close at dark, so it is a rarity!
In the top five. Great! Great place to exercise. Lovely photos. Thank you for your kind words on glorys post.
Minnesota is a healthy place…we dogs often feel that all the exercise might kill us, but they keep saying it is good.
We have no dog parks in my area, but I would like all that different smells there and I bet every tree is like a story book :o)
It’s always a big sniff tour for us, but all the wild dogs interrupt my work all the time so it’s hard to get a real good read on all the trees.
Your park looks so pretty! I especially like the snuggy looking pups in their warm beds after a good romp!
Mom likes the snuggled pups too, don’t know why???
FIFTY dog parks??? Our city has ZERO! That’s right, none, nada, the big goose egg! I am soooo jealous. That is just incredible and this one is beautiful. You girls look like you’re having such fun. Sigh, maybe someday we will get one. Play hard for me. ☺ XXOO, Bentley
They are all over like weeds, but a lot of them we don’t care for. Mom is picky about which ones we go to and we don’t go as often as we used to since I have grown up but I’m starting to go with Bailie these days as she loves it. I said 50, but there may only be 48 😉
Sounds like a great dog park! When I first came to FL I was surprised at the lack of trashcans along walkways and such through the cities. I mean, you want to pick up the poop, but not carry it with your for miles and miles, lol. Is it the same where you live, or are there trashcans?
We have tons of trash cans too unless you are on a trail in the woods. In FL we never find trash cans either.
Sounds like a fun afternoon.
It is always fun to get out and romp around, check out some other dogs and smells.
That bark in the park place does look like lots of tun!
I would not recommend it for cats, though.
That sounds like a really nice dog park, although, I do agree with your mom about the pond!! 😀 We don’t go to dog parks that often. The one park we do regular at is over a thousand acres and is mostly hiking trails. 😀
Is it fenced? Our favorite one is some 40 fenced acres with trails. The majority of the parks are smaller and the humans just stand around watching the dogs play. We like ones where we can walk and maybe stop to play now and then.
Wow, that really sounds like an awesome park. I can’t believe you have so many in your area. We have one being built the next town over which may open next year. The only other one I know of is about an hour away. I like living in a rural area, but we do miss out on some fun stuff!
We have so many and they are all so different. The entire amount are within about an hour drive of us as we are in the south metro, but they are all over.
OMD Emma….that parks sounds fabulous for dogs and for pet parents! I bet the smells there are something else too! You are so lucky to have so many great dog parks by you.
Happy Friday!
Oz
It is some good sniffing and butt sniffing too 😉
I lived in the Twin Cities growing up, and I don’t think there were many dog parks at that time. However, I still have lots of good memories of taking my dogs for walks along several of the trails in the area. We went on the Luce Line Trail quite often, which was close to where I lived. Love the photos of you and Bailie enjoying yourselves at this park!
The Luce line is big in the western suburbs where Mom grew up. Dog parks just started really popping up in the last 10 years or so. They really are all over…even one at the airport!
You’re active because you’re used to the cold enough not to be so dang afraid of it! We here in New England know what that’s about! Keep on walkin’! 😉
You know why humans and animals up north do everything faster than southerners, don’t you? Because we learn early on if we don’t move fast we will freeze!
Yes! So true!
Now that’s a cool dog park! I like the idea of the heated shelter–nothing like that in ours. We need a ginormous umbrella over ours!
I can see that and maybe microfiber ground that absorbs all that water too!
Wow, you’re having lots of fun in that cold snow. During winter, I park myself on the heater vent. But I’m a cat and I”m not allowed out.
My cat bro Bert tries to run away all year round, but in the winter when he dashes out and realized he is up to his belly in the white stuff and it is cold, he stops and lets Mom catch him and bring him back inside!
That looks like a very nice dog park. Too bad the pond is disgusting. Brown dawgs have never been to a dog park. The ones around here are really not that nice. Plus brown dawgs are in tact (Thunder and Freighter) so a dog park for them would be a bad idea and Storm would probably be bossy…lol.
I am bossy, so Mom has to keep a close eye on me. In tact boys could be an issue at the dog park which would possible become a porno park…no good.
What an incredible place to live by. Harley and I will have to get out more and do some exploring. We’ll let you know what we find as far as parks go. Thanks Emma, this was a fun post to read.
Thanks. It’s always fun to “test drive” new dog parks to see if they are a good fit or not.
Wow, 50 dog parks in your city? That is awesome! That park looks like a great place to explore and play!
The 50 are in the Twin Cities total, but there are a good number real close to us, and sometimes we go to ones a bit farther away.
Bailie we love your snowball beard!!
We get those a lot in the snow…silly being a girl with a beard, but the snowballs decorate it up a bit at least.
looks like a great place… lots of snow!
For Minnesota, there isn’t much snow. We are hoping for more!
That looks like a great park! I wish there were some heated shelters in our neighborhood at this time of year!
Right about now, even that isn’t enough here, but we should get back up above zero in a couple days. Mom prefers to keep moving to stay warm, but lots of people just stand there in the heat.