Cherry Creek State Park- Off Leash Dog Area

The park itself is big and reasonably clean, and it’s nice to see dog owners cleaning after their pups. But… there are some dogs that should NOT be there and I blame the owners. I’ve taken my little pup 2 times here already… on the second time, he was attacked by a large, aggressive dog. After some struggling, the owner thankfully was able to haul her large growling, biting dog off mine, but it was some scary, tense moments. She then immediately put a muzzle on her dog, so she knew beforehand that her dog had an aggressive tendency… why would she then take it to an off leash dog park? It’s these kinds of owners that make me hesititant to come here. On a weekend, it’s a crowded place. I am taking my pup there to be socialized and have good experiences with other dogs… not to be traumatized and learn to be defensive and agressive of other dogs.

I feel so lucky to live so close to a dog park of this size. Being spoiled by Fort Funston in SF, I didn’t think it was possible to find a dog park to compare, but Cherry Creek Dog Park comes close!
Before you come, I would check out the weather. It gets pretty windy and cold at the park. And wear waterproof shoes as the paths are dirt. Bring those towels in your car for your shoes and fur baby!
Anyways on to the park! It has a lot of open space for your dog to run free! Go right from the main entrance of the dog park and you can find yourself walking along a nice path with views of the sable and the park. Go left and you can find the water area (fenced as well) for the water loving dogs. I love that they fenced the water area because if you don’t want your dog getting wet, they can’t run straight into the water. Plus for me since my dog runs straight to water once he sees it. Both paths circle around so no worries you won’t get lost. I say to walk the whole thing at a casual pace you are looking at about 45 minutes give or take. Oh don’t worry if you forgot your poop bags, the park provides it.
As always for all dog parks, don’t go stepping off trail. There’s always dog poop left and not picked up…
Parking at the park can be pretty intense on weekend mornings. I recommend going later in the day.
One downside is that to come to the park, you have to pay for parking and dog fee, but trust me it’s worth it. If you plan on coming often, I say just buy the annual pass ($ 93) compared to a day at ($ 11).

Taken my pup here a few times. Great spot for him to swim! There is one spot that is deep and ideal for throwing the ball. The water levels really fluctuate. Sometimes it will be low and kind of tough for my dog to get in and out on the rocks. We have come across 2 different dogs that were aggressive towards my puppy but the owners were apologetic and took there dogs away from mine. Not crazy about the $ 11 daily fee. Seems steep especially since I only go for a couple hours and am only using the dog park and no other areas of cherry creek state park. Overall it’s a great place to take my dog and one of the only areas I can find that I can legally let my dog swim off leash.

This place is awesome. It doesn’t even look like a dog park since it’s so large. I went for the first time today and since it was cold and getting dark we only walked around once without doing too much exploring and one lap around was about 2 miles!
Having an off leash area this large makes it perfect for improving recall training (although I’d recommend having at least the basics down because it’d be hard to catch a dog who didn’t want to «come» in this space). And our high energy lab puppy had a blast running at top speed.
The creek was really nice and it was surprisingly clear and clean looking. In the future our lab will love it but didn’t let her near it today.
The other pet parents were all very friendly and all the dogs were under control and well behaved. I think having to pay to get in prevents children taking poorly trained family pets without parental supervision (I’m not kidding, this happens all the time at free parks).
Next year I will definitely be getting a park pass which will make this a cheaper outing. I’d love to go jogging with my pup off leash in this area.
Highly recommend!!!

This is our favorite place ever!!! Park pass is 100x worth it. 70 bucks for the pass plus 3 for cherry creek. We have probably gone here like 100 times since we moved to Denver in September not to mention 4 other state parks! Tons of space for the dogs to run around. They also love the little stream that runs through. This place truly is Disneyland for dogs. It’s just such a great place for the hounds to run around off leash and play if you don’t have time to get out of the city. Most people have good control over their dogs and most dogs are friendly. I think just having so much space really deters a lot of dog fights because people can just move along if they sense some doggie discomfort. I honestly don’t know what I would do without this place. It is the best place ever. I just don’t know why every dog owner in the area doesn’t make it a staple! We will come here forever lol

What at awesome place to bring the pups.
My boys Apollo and Zeus had an absolutely spended time running free in the park and playing in the water.
For the most part people were responsible for their pooches and only one dog was causing a scuffle. Doggies bags and trash cans are available (although I brought my own bags). Plenty of room for playing and socializing for the pups as well as exercise for the owners. It is definitely fun to watch and see all of the breeds and types of pups.
Cost was $ 2 to get in (we had a Cherry Creek Park pass, but this is an extra pass).
I will definitely be back and will most likely purchase a season pass! It is a must for all dog owners who have a socialized dog and/​or want to keep them socialized.

LOVE THIS PLACE! And so does Baeja, my pup. I actually don’t know who enjoys it more. She’s great off leash so it’s nice having her run as she pleases. Huge park with a couple of different paths to be taken. They have a little creek where the dogs can play fetch and swim around. The people are usually friendly and I’ve never encountered problems with other dogs.

Great location to take your dog, lots of friends to play with!

Warning, our dog came home from the park on Saturday with dog lice. She must have picked them up from a dog she was playing with. It isn’t the fault of the park, just a function of taking your dog to a dog park. I have always loved the park, but we are calling it quits. Lice in your car, home and on your dog is a real drag.
In addition, at this time of year, the smell of dog urine at the gates is Overpowering. For the entrance fee the park service collects, they should power wash the gates every day.

I’m a very frequent user of the park and really appreciate its’ spaciousness. However, the lack of benches is really a problem. There are a lot of elderly folks who come out and some who would just like to sit and watch their dogs run, have someplace to pull up your socks, or someplace to just sit and relax. They have handicap parking spaces so they must anticipate handicapped people will use the park.
I just spoke to the park ranger and he said that there are no plans to put in any additional benches. «They» want to keep the atmosphere/​park flowing without a lot of benches. And he said there wasn’t much anybody could do about it. Jeez, we’re not going to spend the night!
Actually, he said they’d put more big rocks in, but those rocks aren’t too comfortable. Especially after the dogs pee on them.
I also know the Cherry Creek folks don’t read Unilocal!,but for those of you that might need a break while you’re walking out there, I guess bring your own portable stool because there really isn’t but 1 place to sit down there. And if you sit on the ground, somebody’s bound to come up to you and ask if you’re hurt. NO — there’s just NO OTHER place to sit down!

What a fabulous park! Yes, it’s quite the haul from Denver, but so worth it if you need lots of room for Fido to wear himself out.
We brought our dog here last weekend after continually hearing about how wonderful this place was. My only regret was not going sooner!
With all the rain we’ve had, the river/​creek was overflowing, but we didn’t mind. It made for deeper waters for our dog to swim in, which of course — he loved (he’s a lab). There were all kinds of different nooks and crannies along the river for you to throw balls, sticks, whatever if any one particular area got too crowded.
I also really liked the people that were here. Everyone was really laid back and just enjoying their time with their dogs. I guess that’s to be expected at an off leash park of this size as you need to have enough trust in your pet that they can mind their manners. I don’t remember encountering any owner/​pet that wasn’t nice.
Two thumbs up!

I love this place! It’s amazingly huge and great to run out all that puppy energy. They renovated the area by the creek and it looks gorgeous! It’s a great place to get your workout in with your dog. I especially like it because I can’t run with my dog on leash, so the off leash area is great for keeping myself in shape.

Disneyland for Dogs! My dog absolutely loves this place and so do i! There is SOOO much space to run around that my urban dog doesn’t know what to do! Aside from the giant space there is also a little stream where your dog can cool off on an especially hot day. If your dog is a little shy, the park is so spacious that you could really go off and be able to play fetch by yourself.
I plan on getting a park pass because we will certainly be back many times this summer.

My dog loves it! Price is a little steep but the more you go on an annual pass the less it is per a visit.

Cherry Creek is one of the best dog parks we’ve seen yet. The fenced area alone is massive, and the scenery is beautiful as well. There is a nice long loop we took Annie walking along. She was happy to be off-​leash (safely, for us), and sniffed and frolicked with the many dogs there. The people here are very friendly, and all the dogs were well-​socialized. There is a nice riverbed for dogs to swim (ours is still not sure about water).
Tip: It does cost to get in, $ 11 ($ 9 for the state park, $ 2 for the dog park). If we lived in the area, I’d consider an annual pass, because Annie had so much fun.

I love coming to this dog park. It has a ton of off leash open space. There always seems to be other dogs here so if you have only one dog they are bound to find a friend. Towards the back of the dog park there is a stream that runs through, great for water dogs. There are deeper areas where they can swim or shallow areas for the more shy dogs. The trail is a little worn down but that’s only due to weather. It is a state park so bring cash. It’s 9 $ to get into the park, unless you have a state parks pass. And it’s 2 $ a day for the dog park. So total $ 11 for the day. It’s worth the money.

It’s simple. If you have a dog that needs exercise, this is the place to go. For me, I live close enough that it was a no-​brainer for me to fork out the money for a yearly pass (for two cars no less). If I was paying the daily rate, I might consider it a little pricy @ $ 11. But worth every penny for a year when there’s no comparison to any other off leash area remotely nearby… it’s a LARGE wide open expanse, with a decent size stream bordering the west side. Can get a little muddy in spots even if you avoid the stream. Parking lot gets full during peak times and good weather.

Huge open area dog park with room to run, play and swim.
Outside of the Elk Meadow Park in Evergreen this to my knowledge is one of the largest open areas for dogs to play in. The large open fields are great for not only letting your dog run free but there are large water areas for the more amphibious pups as well. My dog always sleeps very well after visiting here so he must be having some fun!
The $ 11 day pass isn’t outrageous, but not a screaming hot deal either. Poop bags always seem scarce, so plan ahead. And I wish there was more than 1 dog water fountain in the park.
Overall though this is one of my favorite dog parks.

I took my 2 pooches here the other day for some much needed exercise. When you arrive if you don’t have a pass, stay to the right! The sign is unreadable, but entering on the right side you can buy day and season passes. The day pass for the park was $ 9 and $ 2 for the dog pass (good for up to 3 dogs). I’ll be back to buy a season pass for $ 73 and season dog pass for $ 20.
Anyway, there is a large parking area with picnic tables, restrooms, and a dumpster. You then have to walk from there to the entrance of the fenced in off leash area which was kind of far (for 1 person with 2 excited dogs!) but there are other parking lots which look like they are much closer to the entrance. Once inside, there were numerous spots where poop bags were located (which is awesome if your dog poops as much as mine when in public spaces like this). We went for a spin around the outer loop and found an amazing beach area! There were sandy shores on both sides of the creek and on one side there were big rocks to build up the side. The water wasn’t very deep or flowing too fast but it was moving enough to carry a ball away from my dog and keep her entertained for quite a while!
This is no doubt my dogs’ favorite place in Denver. We will be back!

Our pup loves this park. We do too. It’s our little special place~
I love how big this park is and how much space grizzly has to romp around. Lots of bushes and trees, water to play in, and 2.5−3 mile loop around the perimeter means that we get exercise too~
We bought the 70 $ annual park pass online and went into the Cherry Creek state office for the 20 $ annual dog park pass as well as the 3 $ fee (i forget what this fee is for?, but it was required). It is definitely worth looking into the annual pass, if you’ll be going more than 8 times a year (since it’s 10 $ daily park pass + 2 $ daily dog park pass each time).