Gillson Park Dog Beach — Attraction in Wilmette

As with everything else that the Wilmette Park district controls, they go overboard with micromanagement. They want your dog to be vaccinated to the absolute hilt, even with vaccines that are not core or necessary. Rabies, of course, but they also want all of these other ones that many vets have advised us against, saying they are unnecessary. Additionally, people arrive at Gillson to go to the park, and they allow their dogs to be unleashed all the way through the park. That makes people like me, with a leashed dog, very uncomfortable. I am a resident, and we now have two dogs, but I won't be taking them here. It's $49 for residents for one year and $247 for non residents... Which is absurd and exclusionary. The greediness of this park...

If you do not live in Wilmete, do not go here. You have to pay over $200 for a pass for your dog, and fill out an application along with bringing in PAPER copies of vaccination records and then wait TWO DAYS to be verified. None of this was on their website.

You also can't park in their lot without a village sticker, and we had to park a mile away because street parking was so crowded. On top of all this, they charge you for beach use. I think it was $16 non-resident and...

Wilmette is a bougie suburb, and like so many bougie suburbs has very nice public areas, but does not cater to outsiders. Finding a spot to park can be a pain if you don't have the special parking permit, and you need a $218 permit to use the dog beach if not a resident. You can take your dog on the regular beach as long as they...