Staring Lake Park Off-Leash Dog Exercise Area — Attraction in Eden Prairie

Great large natural park located at Staring Lake park. This Dog park is not labeled well online and does not often show up in searches for dog parks. Due to that and the setback location it seems to be a well kept secret. The several hours we were there we only saw a handful of other patrons. Everyone (and dogs) were very nice and friendly. Parking lot is paved, free and has water fountain on site. Signs direct you to the off leash dog area from the parking lot. Paved path down decline leads to the park. There is an accessible path and entrance for people who use wheelchair. Double gated entry leads to a medium sized open area with benches and picnic table. Water dishes and some random tennis balls here too. Paths are natural of sand and dirt. Tree roots are exposed so be careful not to trip! Terrain is sloped in many area, may include stairs, and become tighter as you hike. It is a nice walk/hike and not too strenuous. Lots of little paths for dogs to explore. One full lap around the outer path is approx 0.8 miles. Most of the area is wooded. No lake/water access. Likely muddy on heavy rain days. Beautiful Fall colors! Accessible Porta Potty at...

I’ve been coming to this park since I was a kid with my childhood dog. I now have my own :) The park has a couple little trails which have been heavily used, a trail that follows the perimeter, with an entrance area that is mostly sand. There is a lil ravine area where you can walk on the upper sides or down below in the ravine. There is only one area so no separate one for small or frail dogs like Bryant Lake dog park. Some paths are wide and some get narrow. I’ve only ran into a few dogs that play a little too aggressive. Like anywhere, people and dogs make the place. I’d say 99% of the dogs there are happy go lucky pups who are friendly to all. Owners, please know your dog or keep them leashed if they have problems with certain dogs (one dog kept aggressively pursuing mine and the owner said they “seemed to have a problem with fluffy dogs”. Like that’s okay, but either leash up or work on training because my dog isn’t your test dog and there will be fluffy dogs). Sometimes it’s busy like the after work crew while mornings are pretty mellow. Overall, it’s one of my usual parks along with Bryant Lake (which has more grass but also its own...

What an awesome place to hike while letting your pup roam free! Went on a Monday at 4pm and though we passed 6-7 other people walking with their dogs it felt like we had the space to ourselves! Every dog and owner we met was very friendly.

Lots of varied terrain, tons of path options to wander so it's not boring to explore, and plenty of smaller/narrow beaten paths for the more adventurous. The best part was NO MUD! A few bugs here and there but no mosquitos (at least not while the sun was high and hot)

Water available at the top of the hill. When you arrive there are bottles ready to fill and take down, but make sure to bring one up when you leave for the next visit! Bowls are available, but I'd STRONGLY suggest bringing your own as there are a couple highly contagious illnesses being passed around twin cities dogs right now.

We will...