Southwest Dog Park
Southwest Dog Park in Eau Claire, WI is a naturalistic off-leash dog park featuring approximately 0.7 miles of trails along the Chippewa River with multiple access points to a dog-friendly swim beach. The park offers a large, scenic area with grassy fields, sand dunes, woodchip trails, and mature trees providing shade. It is accessible through a double-gated entrance and requires a small fee or an application for yearly access. Amenities include parking with paved lot, multiple poop bag dispensers, and a single trash bin. The park is not fully fenced, does not have designated small or large dog areas, seating, covered shelters, or agility equipment, but does allow off-leash play and swimming for dogs. The terrain is varied with some uneven woodchip paths and natural brush areas.
Reviews
Great road trip dog park. Large area with multiple trails along the river with a great dog beach. This is definitely on our list when traveling through WI.
Good sized dog park with access to river.
NOTES!
-NOT fenced fully.
-Access to river
-FEE (by envelope daily or application yearly) see photos for prices & contact.
-limited lot/area lights
– no seating? – I didn’t notice any benches or tables.
-water spout inside entry but was not on/working on 4/23/22
Paved parking lot. One double gated entrance with single garbage bin, pay box, and multiple bag dispensers. Trails appear to be being rechipped. Terrain is uneven with varying sizes of woodchips. Some rock and dirt area. Grass, sand beach, and grassy areas. Mature trees, fallen trees, natural brush. A lil’ bit of everything!
River access along over 1/4 mile and fence stops 5 feet from the river. River can be quick moving but there is a gentler area near the sand dunes.
Trail loop is approximately 0.7 miles.
I grew up in Eau Claire and only been at one other dog park by Kohl’s location. I found this location to be a nice change. The only problem was my poor old blind dog fell into the water basin in the middle of the park and I almost thought I was gonna have to jump in and pull him out. I wish they would sense this area off so dogs would not go into that area. Otherwise very scenic and beautiful area by river.
Update 5/22: You can now get to the parking lot, but the fences to keep dogs in the park got knocked over from the flooding. Check out my photos for reference.
Super nice dog park, just impossible to drive to the parking lot currently 😄
Best off-leash dog park in Eau Claire/ Chippewa County with access to Chippewa River, great for dogs that love to swim, cant wait for summer when they have the land graded and mulched. Looks like a trail is being made running along river. There are also multiple sand dunes/beaches for easy access to water. I hope more dog owners learn about this park as the weather gets warmer. I would say it is comparable to the twin cities Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park that runs along the Mississippi River. There is a fee so make sure you bring NULL or file the dog license and dog park application paperwork online. I did the latter.