Dog Parks & Runs
Fenced dog-friendly areas and off-leash runs across the city.
Every Chicago dog park, on one page
The Chicago Park District calls its off-leash areas Dog Friendly Areas (DFAs). This page lists every one on the Park District's official list — 33 of them, from Pottawattomie Park in Rogers Park to Calumet Park on the East Side — plus Montrose, the city's one designated dog beach.
You need a permit before you go
Every dog using a DFA needs a Park District permit and tag, renewed each year. Showing up without one is the most common way a first visit goes wrong. To get it you will need:
- a current Chicago dog license or proof of rabies vaccination
- vaccination records — distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus, bordetella and leptospirosis
- a recent fecal test
The city quotes the fee two ways: the Park District lists $10 per dog per year, while Animal Care and Control lists $5. Check the current figure when you apply.
The rules inside the gate
- Off-leash inside the fence only — leash your dog on the way in and out.
- Three dogs per person, maximum.
- No puppies under four months and no dogs in heat.
- No food inside the gates.
Can my dog be off-leash anywhere else?
No. Outside a DFA and Montrose Beach's designated area, dogs in Chicago must be leashed — including on the Lakefront Trail and the 606. There is no off-leash forest preserve inside the city limits; Cook County's off-leash areas are all in the suburbs.
Each listing says what we could confirm about that park. The Park District does not publish surface or fencing details per site, so where a listing is silent on those, it is because the city is too.
No mapped results on this page — listings appear here once their addresses are located.