Hammel Woods Dog Park — Attraction in Shorewood

Permit Required. You're also required to pick up after your dog. Hammel Woods is a very large dog park, featuring an open pavilion to give your dogs water and benches for people to sit. Be careful bringing yourself a snack, as you will be surrounded quickly 😂. The grounds are very well maintained, and open year round.

The bulk of the grass is kept very short, allowing for easy spotting of where your canine left something for you to pick up.

There are a few areas shaped like golf hazards with longer grass they allow to grow wild most of the season. Sadly, there are burrs in there that will hang onto hair, fur, clothes.. So while your dog may have a blast running through these areas, you will have to groom them after.

There is a nice wooded area with a path cutting through it. This is especially a great area to go into during hotter summer days, so you can find some shade.

The other visitors have been very friendly, and their humans have also been nice...

We've been going to this dog park for over 5 years. You do need a pass but it's absolutely worth it as I've seen many new features go in over the years.

The park was originally a single large fenced in area, with a covered section with seats. There are poop bags available in different areas at the park and garbage cans to dispose of it. The grass is kept mowed and the brushy vegetation is trimmed. In fact today we were commenting that the grass looks great even with all the dog traffic.

In the past 5 years they have added more seating under the covered section, added a separate park for smaller dogs, and made a water fountain available for filling containers for the dogs. I've also seen the park ranger come by to check on things a few times. My dog knows the phrase 'dog park' and goes nuts until we arrive. He...

For this park being in the middle of town it wasn't too bad. It was fun walking the trail around (outside) the dog enclosure and having the pups run up to the fence to say hi. The natural trail and paved trail link up together nicely. We visited on a warm day in January, so trail conditions would be better in the summer, obviously.

Around the campsites there was A LOT of garbage laying around the trash cans and picnic tables, so that was disappointing to see. There were also a couple of guys sitting by the creek drinking beer. They didn't bother us or even acknowledge our presence, just an observation to share.

Overall, not a terrible recreational area for being in town in Joliet. Maintenance of the park could be...