Top 14 Dog Parks in Fairfield County, CT

This is my criteria for a property to be considered by me to be a true “dog park”:

• The land has to be fully fenced in
• It has to be fully dedicated to dog-only activities/socialization
• It has to offer poop bag dispensers and waste bins

Because of the criteria above, really great dog-friendly areas and parks did not make this list like… Compo Dog Beach, Cranbury Park, Jennings Dog Beach, Lake Mohegan Park, Mianus River Park, Taylor Farm Park, Tarrywile Park, Norwalk Green and Webb Mountain Park, Winslow Park.

TOP 14 Dog Parks in Fairfield County:

1. Newtown Park & Bark — 21 Old Farm Rd, Newtown, CT — I put Newtown’s Park & Bark at the top of the list, but quite honestly, I feel like it’s a tie between it and Bark Park Dog Park in Ridgefield, CT. See my blog about both parks. What sets Park & Bark apart is its really cool doggie waterpark area that includes a sprinkler system to water down hot dogs in the summer time. The park is also well appointed, very large and has the typical amenities (poop bag dispensers, double-gated entrances for large or small dogs, easy to find waste bins, etc.). But because of all of these specialties + the overall size + its beautiful upkeep, this one tops the list.
   
2. Bark Park Dog Park — 60 Prospect Ridge, Ridgefield, CT — As I said above, I feel like Bark Park Dog Park could also be the top dog park in Fairfield County. It’s got two spacious, fenced-in areas for large and small dogs, plus it has two other fenced-in areas for dog training. It has a doggie “shower” area to rinse off dirty dogs after their visits, and the grounds are immaculate. To top it off, they were installing a lighting system the day I was there so that dogs can visit 24 hours a day!
3. New Fairfield Dog Park — 56 Gillotti Rd., New Fairfield, CT — New Fairfield’s park was a bit hard to find because it is inconspicuously-located next to the playground on the grounds of New Fairfield Middle School, but the park is very nice. It’s got good running areas for large and small dogs and is very well put together and maintenanced. I also loved the dogs and people I met here, and the big dogs actually whined and cried when it was time for me to leave!
4. Shelton Dog Park — 320 Nells Rock Rd. , Shelton, CT — This is another very well-kept park and they do separate the big from the small dogs in separate dog runs that are very clean and nicely landscaped. There is plenty of room for both dogs to run here.
5. Margerie Dog Park — 18 Peck Rd., Danbury, CT — This is the newest dog park in the county, located at the Margerie Reservoir and it covers about 2.5 acres. It has two, very large, fenced-in areas — one for dogs under 20 lbs. and another for larger dogs above that weight. It’s a bit no-frills, but it offers some of the largest open areas for dogs to run around compared to any of the other parks.
6. Miry Brook Dog Park — 76 Miry Brook Rd., Danbury, CT — This is one of the newer dog parks that the City of Danbury has sponsored and funded in the past few years and this park is one of the larger fenced-in parks. It’s right next to the Danbury airport, so air traffic is a constant noise in the background, but the expansive running areas are great and the park is well cared for.
7. Bridgeport Dog Park — Wheeler Park, 45 Lyon Terrace, Bridgeport, CT — This is a fairly no-frills dog park that features a main area with wood-chip ground cover with a few trees in the center. It is rather nice because it’s also rather new. It wasn’t built until 2016 and the bench seating, fencing, and doggie waste bin area are all still in good repair.
8. Waveny Park — 677 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT — Spencer’s Run at Waveny Park would be a lot higher on the list if it weren’t for their confounded rules! You need to send in an application, pay a fee, get a special dog tag and then your owner needs to be given a keycode to get in the gate! That’s a lot to go through and it still doesn’t keep out every dog who has a bad attitude. For instance, on the day I visited, there were two dachschunds ambushing every dog who entered. They barely waited for the dog to get in before they began barking and nipping at them! The park itself is very well maintained and very pretty.
9. Easton Dog Park — 360 Sport Hill Road, Easton, CT  06612 — Easton’s dog park is a bit small, but it was the people and dogs that I loved the best about this place. There is no separation of large and small dogs which can be a problem with 24-pounders like me, but I managed to keep things straight during my visit.
10. Trumbull Dog Park — 307 Indian Ledge Park Rd., Trumbull, CT — Trumbull’s dog park is very big and well put-together, but it is a little rough around the edges. Their grounds could use some attention. On the big-dog side, there is cedar chip ground cover (with large chips) that was hard for me to run on and made me track in dirt into the car when it was time to go home. On the small dog side, there were some pretty deep holes that owners did not fill back in. This place would be higher on the list if it got a little more tender loving care!
11. Bethel Bark Park — 16 Shelter Rock Rd, Bethel, CT 06801 — I wasn’t too crazy about this park, mainly because it was such a let down to enter it after I had gone for a great run with my owner at the adjoining Meckauer Park. This is a no-frills dog park with separate entrances for big and small dogs and there are very few trees. I recommend going to the Meckauer park area instead, where I believe all dogs need to be on leash.
12. Rowayton Dog Park — 33 Highland Ave, Norwalk, CT — Rowayton’s dog park is nice, but pretty no-frills. It’s a fenced-in rectangle with not very many trees (one of my pet peeves), and the seating consists of a few benches and rough hewn boulders. The park doesn’t separate the small from the big dogs and during my visit, I was roughed up by some bigger puppies that I had to growl at and set straight!
    
13. Stamford Dog Park — 53 Courtland Ave, Stamford, CT — Stamford’s dog park is pretty no-frills… it has two good-sized sections to separate large and small dogs. The reason this park shows up near the bottom is I almost got my head bitten off by two very large hounds who went crazy when they saw me. Luckily, we were both entering at the same time and their owner, who claimed they wouldn’t hurt a fly, managed to get them to the big-dog section while my owner protected me and got me to the small-dog side.
    
14. Grass Island Dog Park — Shore Rd & Grass Island Rd., Greenwich, CT — This is another no-frills park where I met some very nice dogs and people. The reason this shows up at the bottom of the list is its location… the back fence abuts the Grass Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, and the smell in the air doesn’t let you forget it! I didn’t mind so much, but my owner did. The ground cover of this place is a little rough too, consisting of older cedar chips, but they do have two separated dog runs for smaller and bigger dogs, which is good.

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