Entrance area to the Dog Off Leash Area at Cherry Creek State Park (photo courtesy of CPW)
AURORA, Colo. – The heavily used dog off leash area at Cherry Creek State Park – a popular spot for dog owners that sees over one million visitors of the two- and four-legged kind a year – will be temporarily closing Oct. 11-15 so park staff can conduct needed maintenance and enhancement work.
This is the third time that the dog off leash area will be closed. It was also closed in October of 2020 and 2019 for four days. This allows for staff and contractors to conduct work on the natural resources and trails while improving access for all visitors.
“We are dedicated to being active caretakers of this highly valued public land,” said Park Manager Jason Trujillo. “It has gotten to the point where it is so busy down there we can’t get any work done without interrupting the experiences of visitors and this maintenance work cannot be conducted safely while the area is open.”
In 2021, the dog off leash area has continued to experience very high visitation and use. The dog park offers a great outlet for the public dealing with the stresses of our times. The staff, volunteers and partners of Colorado Parks and Wildlife are dedicated to the long term protection and preservation of this resource.
“It is hard to have a sustainable resource when it is so heavily used,” Trujillo said. “The work we are doing will be a balance of resource protection and additional improvements. We appreciate the patience of our visitors during the brief period the dog off leash area will close.”
Improvements this year will include the addition of concrete to improve access from the parking lot to the entry to the dog off leash area, temporary fencing that will allow reseeding of native grasses to flourish and for weeds to be managed, resurfacing of the trails, restriping of the parking lot at 12 mile south and a new message board at the entrance station.
The trail work will consist of contractors adding crusher fine gravel to elevate the trail and assist with erosion control concerns.
Park staff will be looking at this type of major maintenance work twice a year – once in the fall and once in the spring. If anyone wishes to volunteer to help with this project, they can contact the park by calling 303-766-6562.
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