Pooch Park — Attraction in Evanston Township

Nice park. Park District used to resod in the fall, but I feel since it is used right after it rains the main area has no grass and can be a mud pit they felt it was a losing battle. A real plus are the dog owners. They do watch their dogs and are self-policing and care about other's dogs that they know as well. Weekday regulars especially. Weekends bring those who may not be quite as vigilant about watching their dogs and picking up after them. Evanston/Skokie parks district does a pretty good job maintaining the physical aspects of the park to make it a clean and structurally safe place for your dog. It would be very unreasonable to think that dogs would not have their rare, in my opinion, fights. When this occurs many dog owners will jump in regardless of their own safety to help. The small dog area helps to alleviate stress of the small dog owners that would prefer their dog not be around larger dogs. Overall, pretty well maintained. Conscientious owners (especially weekdays). Nice large area to run and get exercise. You cannot really expect more from a dog park. (To help alleviate the maintenance costs, there is a yearly fee-based pass that must be obtained to use the park. More info in park website. They do check passes many times so you feel that the money you pay...

Huge and multifaceted park perfect for all kinds of pooches and the people who love them! Area for agility training could use some repairs and upkeep, but it’s still a nice feature. Lots of garbage cans and poop bags distributed throughout the park and at the entrances. (Would be better if visitors would be more conscientious about using them, but that’s not the fault of the park.) Tons of bushy areas great for the hunting breeds to explore and a large enclosed area for puppies and smaller breeds to play safely away from the big boys/girls. Park benches and tables aplenty, but no human food allowed — for the safety of dogs and humans alike — so don’t plan to bring a picnic. Plenty of parking on the north and south sides of the park (Main and Oakton entrances) and the Oakton side has restrooms and water fountains. Park is serviced on Wednesdays, when the gates are locked starting between 12:30 and 1:00 and unlocked between 1:30 and 2:00. (Start/stop times for locking up depend on when the groundskeepers, garbage truck, and...

membership only — should be more prominently advertised as such on Google.

My dog and I have gone to dog parks around the country as we’re roadtripping. Came into Chicago and needed to stall for about an hour, so figured I’d take my pup to a dog park so she could make some buddies. As it turns out, parking is impossible near any dog parks in Chicago proper, so I thought Evanston might be a safe bet since it’s more of a suburb. Fought traffic for an hour to get here only to find out that a public park has privatized their dog area. Would be more understanding if there were more amenities, but seems like a classic case of keeping dogs from lower income homes away because… what, people who pay $50 for membership and live in a wealthy suburb inherently have less aggressive dogs?...