Linkwood Lane Dog Park left me fascinated. It really feels like it was a small piece of unused land that the city randomly decided to turn into a dog park. From a high level map, you can imagine it is part of the Don Valley trail system, but really it is not. Unlike a trail, you can hear and see the adjacent DVP. Again, unlike trail, there’s a cell phone radio tower almost inside the dog park. You probably need to think of Linkwood Lane as part of the nearby Flemingdon Park and the associated community. Flemingdon Park is quite large with a community garden, good quality outdoor basketball courts, running track, and soccer fields. It’s a shorter walk to the dog park than to the far end of Flemingdon Park.
We decided to drive, and it was not obvious where to park. That said, having done it, it was no problem (we parked at Flemingdon Community Centre, but you can see from the city pictures that most patrons who drive park right on the side of Linkwood Lane road, here: https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/img/2443/1.jpg). I was surprised we didn’t see more people just walking to the park from the nearby residential towers, but perhaps that would be different on a different day.
The park has a quirky feel to it. It’s not just the shape of the park (diamond-like). Nor is it just the fence at the edge that is partway down the hill (not all the way down!). Nor is it even just the cellphone radio tower! It’s all of it, together with some of the unique signage. See below.
We saw only a few other visitors during our time at the park, but you can see from the worn patches on the grass that it clearly gets regular use. The ground cover is better than it looks – the sloped terrain will keep water from puddling much. Obviously the spot right by the park bench is an exception. We visited this park on the same wet, cloudy, day as we visited Sunnybrook dog park, and the difference in mud was obvious (and in favour of Linkwood).
Overall, it is a nice little dog park, actually. Although it will appeal to some tastes more than others, for sure. A few more and larger trees would certainly be appreciated during a sunny summer day, though.
Summary Table
| ground cover | Grass, with a few muddy bits depending on the weather. There’s a nice hill that prevents water from pooling. |
| water | I don’t remember any water source |
| dog park association | https://www.facebook.com/groups/linkwoodlanedogpark/ |
| size | Medium |
| enclosure | Wire mesh with decorative split rail in parts, chain link in other parts |
| url | https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/2443/index.html |
