Lake of the Isles Off Leash Recreation Area

We were in Minneapolis for a wedding and brought our dog here to kill some time before our flight home. It was very spacious with plenty of room for the pooches to run around. It was also very shaded. There isn’t any grass, just wood chips, but lots of brush around the outsides. There was a sign on the gate warning of ticks, but luckily my dog didn’t get any that I found. The view here is great — very pretty lake across the street and lots of people walking and jogging past.

It was a small area, lots of trees, separate small dog and big dog areas. There was a lot of dog poop everywhere which was unfortunate.
There were two dogs that kept trying to hump my dog– a solid 20 minutes. Now I know a dog park is meant for dogs to play and parents to just hang back. But really. The dog wasn’t neutered-​at least go grab him and separate him from mine.
Lots of dogs/​owners playing fetch with their dogs so it was a fun atmosphere.
Free Street parking open sunrise to sunset (10pm)
There are a total of 7 dog parks listed for Minneapolis so I’m excited to check out the other parks.

This dog park is A-​OK.
After hearing so much about this place, I stopped by with a couple others last weekend to check it out. There’s about 1.87 acres for your pup to roam (according to
), wood chips, grass, and dirt covering the ground, and two main areas (dogs under 20 lbs and all).
In the small dog section, I love the fact that it isn’t just flat. In the back, there’s sort of a mini hill. There’s also some large trees that provide great shade and plenty of leaves for your four-​legged friend to dive into.
I’m not as fond of the other side. Maybe it was just me, but when I visited, dogs were just fighting the whole time. (Yes, I do know there’s a difference between fighting and playing.) Even though there’s enough room, on the weekends, it can feel really tense there. I do like the underused area in the back, though.
Parking can be a pain on the weekends (or just in general), so I would consider finding a spot far away and just walking there. Your pup would probably appreciate the extra steps anyway.

When I worked in the service industry I would go to LOTI every morning with my pup! Between 10 and 11 on weekdays we would see a few other dogs and it would be nice and relaxing. Now that i work 9 – 5 we just can’t go. Too many people not paying attention to their dogs, too much energy, too much everything. It can be overwhelming for me and for my dog. It’s really a bummer because we used to be regulars. I actually think has the potential to be dangerous on nights and weekends.

Public dog culture in the Twin Cities is not as developed as in the SF Bay Area. Perhaps because of the weather. This is a reasonable size off leash dog run. There are no benches for dog owners to sit. Some good souls brought chairs. THERE ARE NO WATER FAUCETS and one has to rely on the good will of people who bring water for their dogs. The doggies are well behaved, as are their owners. The vistas of the lake — beautiful.

Two stars just because the park is close to home.
SOME owners needs to think that having a dog is not only something cool or fun. It’s about responsibility and respect. If your plan is to socialize, there’s some website for that. So please control your dog, which means clean (I think there’s enough sign in the park showing the rules) and supervise (everyday I see dogs harassing other dogs). Drop your phone and play with your dogs. Oh and I’m not the water boy…
Otherwise the park is nice and big enough. I like the idea of the wood chips even if you get dirty :-) and the view is beautiful with the lake.

The only positive is that the park is close to home. It’s nice to go when it’s not really busy, but overall I’ve seen plenty of irresponsible owners. My first day there a Weimaraner was left unsupervised and pooped in a corner with no one to clean up after it. Most of the owners stand in the middle and don’t watch their dogs and stop them when there is the potential for a fight to erupt. I brought water for my dog, and when I poured it in the bowl, all the other dogs came to drink. There are obviously «regulars» to the park that get a sort of «pack mentality.» I watched them chase and harass another owner’s lab who’s tail was tucked running away. The lab kept showing her teeth in fear and trying to get away, and the other dog owners didn’t stop the harassment. They obviously think the dogs are just playing and don’t recognize the signs of a dog in fear who is not playing. I’ve also seen people bring small dogs to the big dog area. That’s just dumb on their part… Dogs are unpredictable and big dogs often see small dogs as prey. All-​in-​all there is just potential for a disaster to happen.
Luckily my dog doesn’t care about playing with the other dogs, so we can go to the corner of the park where nobody goes and just spend time with her.
Overall, avoid it if you can, or come during off-​peak times.

Terrible dog park, all the reviews about people coming here to socialize are %100 correct. Often these people don’t supervise their dogs. Disagree with the pack of people here and they’ll do what it takes to me you feel not welcome.
Like any dog park if you can avoid the pack of idiots in the middle it might be do-​able in a pinch.

I like this place because it is close.
It is definitely just as much a social hour for owners as it is for the dogs. And I’ve definitely had some bad experiences with other dogs here — and with owners who don’t step in when their dog is overly aggressive. This also seems to be a spot where people miss that their dog is off pooping because they’re busy socializing, making other visitors have to be the poop police.
The southwest corner (through a narrower section towards the back) is great for playing fetch one-​on-​one with your shyer dog. Or to get away from dogs that are harassing your dog.
The wood chips are actually kind of nice for our dogs — they help keep them a little less messy when it’s wet out. I would opt for pretty much any other park over this one if I had more time to drive my dogs places to exercise them.

My first experience here would have been exceptional had there not been a large dog resembling BEETHOVEN on the small dog side that habitually kept on playing too rough with my playful yorkie. Instead of relaxing I constantly had to stay by my dogs side to mediate as beethoven’s owner (old man rivers) would not control his dog. Aside from this, I really like the park. It was prettier than the park I typically go to in St Louis Park.

What’s with all the negativity people? I have to respectfully disagree and say that both my boyfriend and I love the Lake of the Isles dog park. We frequent it often and we all (dog included) have a great time. The woodchips are replenished often which keeps the park very clean. There are big beautiful trees framing the park and the lake across the street, which makes for a lovely scene. Despite one bad run-​in with a Pitbull in heat, I feel as though the social aspect of this park is a huge plus — for both the owners and the dogs! Yes, it is important to keep an eye on your dog, but dog scuffles do sometimes happen — after all, they are dogs! Overall, this park is great for the dog which is what’s important.

Meh. It wasn’t as awful — or as great — as other reviews state. It was a dog park: not bad enough that I swear I’ll never go back, but not great enough that we’ll go out of our way to go back. The wood chips are definitely odd, but didn’t seem to bother my dogs. I didn’t feel included in conversations among the regulars, but wasn’t particularly excluded, either, just ignored.
The dogs slept for hours after we got home, so the dog park fulfilled its main role, but I suspect we’ll head to a different park next time.

I’ve been bringing my pup here for 3 years but it’s because he knows the way and loves to walk himself there. I think he might be showing off… For me, I prefer other dog parks (hellllllo Minnehaha or airport DP!) but they’re much further away from us.
I don’t mind the wood chips and my dog doesn’t either.
I’m not sure why but the dogs here seem more uptight than other parks. Maybe it’s the close quarters and the high traffic? The play can get rough and tensions can raise if there are too many dogs since the dogs/​people all tend to stay in the central area, which makes the dog park really small.
The location is great for me and it’s beautiful to be able to walk around the lakes to get to it. In the winter my dog loves to play on the lake after playtime and in the summer, he loves to swim by the canoe dock to cool down after the park. Can’t really beat that.
In the winter, bring your own water as it’s most likely frozen. In the summer, I’d bring your own too since I’ve gone quite a few times when there isn’t any and the poor pup is soooo thristy!

I definitely agree with Ralph M. If you want to spend one on one time with your dog, this is definitely not the place. If your dog needs a lot of playmates and you want to talk to a few dog owners, this is the place to go. I was wary about this park at first because of all the bad reviews but I actually really like it, my dogs love it, and it’s so convenient and close. It’s weird that people list all these great positives and then list one negative that ruins it all.
We’ve been here 3 times now:
— I’ve never had trouble with parking.
— There’s a good variety of people that come here, lot’s of playmates for my dogs who love to play with other dogs.
— I love the small dog area so my dogs can play with dogs their own size.
— I haven’t had a problem with wood chips but jeez the caterpillars are pretty gross but what can you do? It’s at a park after all.
The only bad experience I had here was with a clearly new dog owner who brought her tiny teacup poodle puppy to the park. Granted, I am all for socializing your puppy early. My dog, who likes to take over the dominate role, started playing with the puppy and rough-​housing as dogs do. The owner flips out and tries to kick my dog. If she succeeded in kicking my dog, I would have round-​house kicked her. I was right there, I was ready to pick up my dog once I saw her freaking out. Or you could pick up your pup. Or understand that just because you have a teacup poodle doesn’t mean it is an actual tea cup.
I removed my dog from the situation to avoid stressing out the owner and left. But there are great dog owners and some not so great ones. It doesn’t take away from all the positives of the park.

This park seems to have some bad press on Unilocal.While I don’t think its as bad as some make it out to be, its not the greatest either.
First the positives: Its very close to my house as the crow flies. The park is generally clean and well kept. There is communal water, and some extra poop bags if needed. Seating is ample for humans, and plenty of room for the dogs to run. There is a double gate, which is nice, and a large dumpster (smells like flowers) out front. Also, a small dog area that is separate from the rest.
Negatives: My main gripe with this place is the parking. Its a huge pain in the ass. Mostly because its on the parkway (one way), but parking is almost impossible at peak hours. Not to mention the fact that if there isnt parking you have to drive either around lake of the isles, or back onto lake and around to take another run at it. PAIN IN THE ASS!
Sometimes you’ll get some flaky owners or aggressive dogs, but its a dog park. Thats going to happen. Get enough people in a group and odds are that a few of them are going to be complete d-​bags. Just how it is. I will say however, that this park can get a little over-​populated for my tastes. I go now and then because its close, but way too many people on a nice day.

After reading the reviews (mostly bad) about Lake of the Isles Off Leash Rec area — I still wanted to try it, simply because I wanted to try every single dog-​park in the twin cities area.
Lake of the Isles, is my least favourite.
The positives:
I really love the double gate thing, which helps when dogs are too excited that they run amok and escape. I wish all parks had double gates.
There is a communal water bowl, and most of the neighbourhood folks bring water bottles, or milk jugs filled with water to replace the water.
The negatives:
The scenery is beautiful, but you’re not in it — those big, tall trees are no where near where your dog will be, unlike that of Minnehaha park’s.
I found that the owners brought their dogs, and just left them to play without supervision, while they chatted up with other dog owners. Now, I know the dog-​owning community is pretty big on discussions, normally every time we meet a new dog, we have the regular, «How’s your dog?» «What is he?» «How old is he?» etc, while still watching the dogs play, but the owners here seem to not care.
Seemed to use having their dog as their social key to meeting new people.
If I’m coming to a dog park, sure I want to meet new people and socialize, but I also want to play with my dog.
Because, the dogs are unsupervised, they were extremely aggressive — many times I had to stop play, just to make sure if my dog and other dogs were okay. I don’t understand this irresponsibleness.
Oddly, you’ll find a «poop police» there though, someone who is intent on looking at other dogs poop, and finding their owners to pick up after them. I suppose it’s needed since everyone’s busy socializing.
The wood chips — ouch!

…call me a «dog park snob» or whatever… but this isn’t my favorite dog park… for a few reasons…
Sure, the scenery is beautiful — big mature trees surround the park, the lake is right across the street, and the park itself is clean (other than the cigarette butts that were scattered about — gross).
Sure, there are plenty of water dishes & everyone seems to chip in with supplying water for the pups.
Sure, there is that double-​gate thing that helps prevent the «clever» dogs from escaping…
Sure, there is plenty of room to run — but OUCH — the wood chips are a little outta control.
Sure, the separate little dog park area for smaller (under 20 pounds) dogs is great.
However, I have 3 large dogs. 2 of them are total escape artists. Typically, I keep them on a leash while at certain dog parks (including this one, there are other dog parks where the fence is 6′ tall — hooray for these parks!) — the 3^rd one can run loose and socialize at will. The fence that runs around this park is pretty solid, but it is only 4′ tall — at the highest point. Most places it’s under 3′ tall. For a 90 pound Foxhound — this is a quick jump & done & gone.
This dog park is close to home & therefore — we will most likely visit it semi-regularly…but we won’t go out of our way to go to this dog park…

I’m with the people who are surprised at the negative reviews on here about Isles’ dog park. Granted, I only have started going since late November last year so I have not had experience with the woodchips. My 3-​year old pit loves this place as there are always at least 3 other dogs at the park anytime we go– quite the achievement seeing as how it is freezing cold. I’ve never had a problem with inattentive or irresponsible owners. Every now and then a dog will get too rough, but the owner is just a few feet away to stop the problem and offer a quick apology. no big deal.
Keeping in mind that this is no Minnehaha Falls, we are big fans!

I’m with Val on this one. My dog LOVES to come here and play. When I need to wear him out, I just bring him here to run and wrestle. I’ve never had and only rarely seen problems with aggressive dogs and/​or detached owners.
If you’re looking for a place for some private playtime with your dog, this is probably not the dog park for you. If your dog is friendly, energetic and in need of some playmates, this is your dog park.
I really appreciate that Minneapolis offers these dog parks.

Wow — pretty bad reviews on here… but I have to respectfully disagree. I really love this dog park, especially the small dog area. Unlike many other parks in the city, this space encourages both people and dog interaction. Not only is the park beautiful, but there are benches a plenty and the patrons bring lots of water and clean up after their pets.
My dog Ted always leaves exhausted, breathing heavily, with what can only be described as a grin on her oogly little face. It’s a great dog park when you like the people and pups alike.