Portage Lakes Dog Park
Portage Lakes Dog Park in New Franklin, OH features a wheelchair accessible entrance and parking lot. It is great for dogs that enjoy water activities, with a natural lake and a diving dock for dogs to swim and play. While the area feels initially small, it has plenty of space for dogs to run. The park has picnic tables and is kid-friendly with hiking trails. Caution is advised as the lake fence has some holes and the water can be murky. Facilities include outhouses without running water near the beach area, and nearby amenities include a McDonald’s.
Reviews
Fairly small, but there is dock to jump your puppers off of. The fence extends into the lake, and it’s ok, but 3 of the 4 dogs our group had were able to go around the ends, so it could be longer.
Nice place to let Murdoch run and play in the water. A few other dogs showed up and they had a great time together. I wish there were a few more benches closer to the water.
Make sure your dog has good recall, even through prey drive!
There are holes in the fence in the water.
My dog will find the hole if it exists, and we did not find one outside of the lake opening.
Water is a natural lake with geese, ducks, algae (minimal), and plants. It’s murky.
At first it feels small but once your pup starts running you’ll realize there’s tons of room, the lake opening just isn’t large. I didn’t take photos of all the room behind us.
We had a great experience today. Very peaceful spot. We were mainly by ourselves but the few we did interact with were very nice.
There are bathrooms if you go to the regular people beach there are two outhouses without running water, bring sanitizer. There is also a mcd close to the park entrance.
We went here while they are doing work on bow wow beach in Stow. I think I would go to BWB beach over here, although we will definitely be back!!
We drove a little out of way recently while travelling to southern Ohio to stop here to check out this park with our two dogs. Both dogs are not big water dogs, but the open water and diving dock was a big plus for this location and is definitely a unique feature that we do not have at our local parks. There is some erosion in a few spots due to natural rainwater erosion, so make sure to watch your step, and IF you happen to have a dog with a tendency to stray, this might not be the BEST park since it IS open to water, but use your best judgement on your dog’s preferences.
I bring my dog gear as much as possible during the summer and lob tennis balls out into the lake for him to go get. Always a fun time. Bring sunscreen.