I’m always up for trying new things, especially when it comes to taking my dog Scout different places around the cities. Whether it be to a brewery or to a friend’s house, my wife and I typically try to bring her along.
That being said, we’ve been taking her to the same dog park for some time now in Northeast Minneapolis; it’s fairly large and great for her to run around at. This past weekend however, we decided to try something new. We had heard about the dog park over near Minnehaha Falls before but had never been there. So why not?
Your dog will run… and run… and run
First thing’s first. When we arrived, we had to walk a good distance from the street parking right off of Highway 55 to even get to the off leash dog area.
This definitely wasn’t a bad thing. It made a great little hike on a Sunday afternoon through the woods following the laid out path. It was pretty eye opening for me since this was just the start. Once you actually get into the off leash area (although there were plenty of dogs off leash before hand… tsk tsk), there’s dogs everywhere!
My pup was having the time of her life flying back and forth with other dogs.
This is not a bad thing. Let me tell you I knew she would be tired the rest of the day. And that’s always a positive.
Doggy Heaven
We continued down the path, it gets a bit treacherous along the way with some stairs that takes you down super close to the Mississippi river.
And that’s the point when you’ll realize you don’t even feel like you’re in the city anymore. It’s also a doggy haven. Hundreds of dogs are just running around everywhere!
One thing to note, if your dog likes water, they’re going to get wet. There’s plenty of little sandy areas for the dogs to run into the Mississippi River from the shore and play. Words to the wise, bring a towel in your car. A wet dog coupled with rolling around in the sand equals a muddy dog. There’s really no way around it.
You can walk for quite a ways along the Mississippi following the many different paths while your pups run back and forth off leash. It’s definitely a way to take in some great scenery and go on a great hike, while letting them burn some energy at the same time. Expect to take around an hour or a little more to go all the way to the end and back.
High Waters
There was definitely some flooding when I went this weekend. The Mississippi had spilled over onto a good chunk of the trail. Just remember this so you don’t wear your brand new white tennis shoes and expect them to come out of this clean.
If you’re in the area, and you have a Minneapolis dog park permit, make sure to bring your pets here to run around. They’ll get some great exercise and you’ll be able to experience one of the best city dog parks I’ve ever been to.
And, best of all, your dog will come home ready to cuddle up and crash on the couch for the rest of the day.
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