D'Angelo Park — Attraction in Chicago

D'Angelo Dog Park is a great addition to the area. The Dog Park is spread into two parts 1) North of Congress and West of Franklin and 2) South of Congress and East of Franklin. Getting from one side of the park to another is a short walk on Franklin under Congress. Both of these parks are fairly bare bones relative to other parks in the area like Mary Bartelme Park or Grant Bark Park in the west loop. The north end of the park features a dog water bowl fountain that works in the warm months and a separate area for small dogs. The north section of the park is half small crushed rock and half stone brick and is well lit at night. The south end of the park is more natural with one large open grass hill. The south end of the park was born out of the Wacker Drive redesign. This area could have easily been an empty landscape, but city designers covered the Franklin exit off of Congress/290 with a grass hill and thus was born the park. The south end of the park features a few park benches and is well lit at night but fairly isolated. For those worried about being alone I would recommend the north end of the park which is across the street from the 235 Van Buren condo building. The south loop dog park alliance maintains the north end of the park and provides doggie waste bags, but be prepared to bring your own bags for the south section...

This is a great dog park in the South Loop. This might be the only large natural grass dog park in the downtown area. There are a few large gaps at the bottom of the exterior fence and ground where a dog could escape through, but the high shrubs separating the inner park and exterior park acts as a barrier for your dog to stay in the main area. It is possible for dogs to wander outside of the main area, so owners should be cautious and keep an eye on their pups so they dont find the gaps. The roads surrounding the park are all pretty busy and frequently traveled, so owners should be aware of their dogs at all times. Other than those gaps and a few mud pits, this area is great for larger breeds to stretch their legs and run around. The grass plain is probably the best part of this park as other parks generally have asphalt or concrete, which are very hard on the pads of their paws. We really enjoy this little gem in the loop. If the city repaired the gaps under the fencing and reseeded the mud pits, I would easily give this a 5...

Update: Love this park when it is covered in snow!

No water fountain (as far as I can see). There a gross little puddle of water that needs to be filled because all the dogs are trying to drink from it. Like the “different terrain” but wish it were groomed a bit more.

Also, my dog loves to chase squirrels... but there seems to be a large resident rat that he’s taken...