Sunnybrook dog park is a large and well-known dog park in Toronto (see, for example, this article). Our dog walker has often taken her dog-walking pack to Sunnybrook. (Yes, our canine receives more walks from our dog walker than from us, the loving owners.) The dog park is part of a much larger park, with some interesting history. You can read the background history, as well as some suggested hiking routes through the park, at another blog, here: https://hikingtoronto.hikingtorontofordoglovers.com/2020/03/sunnybrook-off-leash-park.html

The park is open to commercial dog walkers, but we visited on the 31’st of December when there are presumably fewer-than-typical commercial walkers. Despite that, it was still relatively busy. Busy, but not crowded, thanks to its large size. My guess is that, like the Kew Gardens dog park, it’s probably well-utilised during the daytime, but atypically quiet at night. We’ve only visited once, so unfortunately I can’t say for sure. Notice the absence of lamp posts in the picture below.

If you have a young pup that needs to use up its energy by chasing and wrestling other dogs, and if you are happy driving to a park, then this should be a good place to go. The dog pen is just by one of the parking lots. However, if you are out just to get your dog some exercise, then your time might be better spent by simply walking the trails and paths of Sunnybrook with your pup. You may find the hike more enjoyable than taking the sedentary side of a visit to the dog park. We spent far more time walking the trails, and only visited the dog park briefly because we “had” to.

Me and My Dog Standing at the entrance to the Mud Pit, Dec 31, 2021

Summary Table

ground coverMud. Maybe dirt during the dry parts of the summer.
waterDrink from the mud puddles? I don’t really remember.
dog park associationhttps://sunnybrookdogpark.wordpress.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/sunnybrookdogpark/
sizeLarge
enclosureSplit rail
urlhttps://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/28/index.html
Bench with melting traces of snow on the ground and split rail fence in foreground at Sunnybrook Dog Park
A park bench at Sunnybrook, Dec 31, 2021

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