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Hillcrest Dog Park

Hillcrest Dog Park is located on the northeast side of Grand Rapids, MI, and offers separately fenced areas for small and large dogs. Amenities include an expanded entryway, benches, shaded areas, a seasonal water station and waste bags. A wooded nature path is also available, and nature play from recycled City trees that have fallen. Visit Website

Or call (616) 456-3696 or email parksandrec@grcity.us for more information.

Reviews

BringFido Guest Rating

Hillcrest Dog Park has received a rating of 3.9 out of 5 bones by 21 canine critics on BringFido.

  • Amanda
    Sep 20, 2022
    Big Dog Park

    we just move back here. It’s big for big dogs to run around. I’m sure your dog can find some doggie friends here. But just not too much grass here and the tables are quite dirty.
    The park development is making the dog area bigger and nicer so we are excited for it.

  • Liesel
    Sep 26, 2020
    Decent but no grass

    This dog park is about an acre. It has benches and one small shelter to sit under. It has a small and large dog area. The large dog area is completely dirt with no grass. I would not come here during a damp spell.

  • Jess
    Nov 6, 2018
    Nice Off-Leash Neighborhood Spot

    My dogs love to come here once a week or so. It's just a neighborhood spot - nothing too fancy. It has nice, tall fences for my husky/malamute mix, but there are a couple of gaps that my chihuahua could get through if he really wanted to. There is a separate area for small dogs, which is nice when the big ones start to get rowdy. It's mostly wood chips and dirt, so if it has rained recently or the snow just melted, expect a mud pit. As you might expect, it gets pretty busy on weekdays from 5:00 to 6:30 pm - especially when the weather is nice.

  • Annonomous
    More than a year ago
    woah there

    while entering the big dog play pen, i saw whar looked like frendly dogs being unleashed the strange part was that they where running at a verry intence speed near my 11 year old duater they missed her and instead jumped off a pile of woodchips outside and all the owner did wassay they didn't bite. CONTROLL YOUR DOGS MAIM

  • Erin
    More than a year ago
    Not Bad

    Pros:
    Nice dogs and people, lots of running room, plenty of trees for shade, easy to find and fence is very secure

    Cons:
    Mainly wood chips and loose dirt (hardly any areas for grass) which makes it a dirty ride home, and no running water (only jugs with a couple bowls)

  • Kim
    More than a year ago
    Agressive Dogs and Owners Without a Clue

    I took my two dogs to the park recently. When I got there, I noticed that there were only a couple of people in the small dog area. Just after walking in with my tow dogs, my dog was attacked by another dog. The owner came over and stopped it. As soon as he stepped away, the dog went after my dog again. He was out for blood. I had a water bottle in my hand and threw it at the back of the dog. I didn't know what else to do. The man walked over and picked his dog up. Then he turned to me and chastised me for throwing my water bottle. I said I didn't hurt her. He said, "well you don't have to throw a water bottle at her." I said that I was really afraid. He never apologized or even said anything to his dog. He as just angry at me for throwing the water bottle. I left immediately and have no plans to ever return. I just can't take the chance of my dog getting hurt because of ignorant people.

  • Anthony
    More than a year ago
    Great Park

    It's a great park took my lab pit mix there for the first time and he loved it. He was never socialized with other dogs b4 but he did way better than i expected there

  • Lacey
    More than a year ago
    Awesome Park!

    This park is great. With it being a free park, there is some risk to bringing your dog to socialize with other dogs, but overall we have had very good experiences at Hillcrest. Most owners discipline their dogs when needed and I have rarely seen a scuffle get too far out of hand. My dog looks forward to playing here weekly, no matter what time of year (although the park tends to get very dirty and gross when the snow starts melting.)

  • Julie
    More than a year ago
    Great place!

    We love coming to this dog park. Very few aggression issues with other dogs and just a great place to bring my dog to play!

  • Melissa
    More than a year ago
    Great park

    Took my greyhound here today and had no issues. Thanks City of GR for having such great parks.

  • Brett
    More than a year ago
    great park

    That wild greyhound sounds just as wild as it's owner Aaron. This guy needs to be in a straight jacket with a gag ball. Psychotics should not be allowed in this park. If I see that greyhound I will purposely open both gates and then aggressively slam them in his owners face.

  • Erika
    More than a year ago
    Great park, some bad experiences

    I love bringing my dogs to this park. There is a huge wide open space for them to run, benches for the owners, great shady areas to cool down, poop bags provided if you forget yours, and water for the dogs. Most of the dogs and their owners are great. It's really cool to see how many different kinds of dogs show up to the park. And most owners are very outgoing, as are their dogs.

    However, I have had some trouble with people not watching their dogs or not caring when they get overly aggressive. Any time a group of dogs takes off running or playing, these aggressive dogs have to get in the middle and start snarling and snapping until the group stops. I actually saw a woman leave the park because one wouldn't stop terrorizing her dog every time it tried to play. It's not fair to the dogs that they can't run around when these aggressive dogs are at the park. I've seen the owners "discipline" the dogs a few times, usually by exasperatedly saying their name or shaking their finger at them and saying, "You need to learn how to play." Of course, that solves nothing. I understand that these people probably bring their dogs to the park because they need to be socialized, but they should keep an eye on them and discipline them when things get out of hand. How else are they supposed to learn how to play?

    Also, sometimes people in the neighborhood will drop their kids off to play with other people's dogs. These kids are very bad about opening and closing the gates so the dogs don't get out. There's a group of about five of them, so they usually get distracted or think someone has closed the gate before the other one is opened. If I see them there I usually just turn around and leave, because it's usually not a safe situation.

  • Alex
    More than a year ago
    great park

    i think it is a great park. i brought my amstaff there and she made some great friends with another staffy, a doberman and a great dane. all around a good place

  • Anon
    More than a year ago
    Don't judge the Greyhound by the owner

    Yeah, Aaron is a bit over the top, but greyhounds will run regardless of the amount of training and capability you have. I have a Shiba mix and its a similar story there. Know your breeds.

  • Lisa
    More than a year ago
    May I point out

    that greyhounds will chase things as they are trained to do so, and the owner will not be able to catch them.

    With that being said, I think this is a great park. Brought my dog Lily there a few weeks ago and she loved it, although the small dog park shouldn't have as many big dogs as it did.

  • Gary
    More than a year ago
    Dog Trainer

    That Aaron with the untrained greyhoud dog should not be allowed in the park, and if he yells at me, he better be a fast runner!. If anyone can't control their dog better than Aaron can his, they should not be allowed to own a dog, much less be in our park.

  • Kathy
    More than a year ago
    response

    Large dogs who arn't agressive toward any other dogs can still hurt a small dog when playing. They can step on a small dog and injure it. So saying that a dog 'doesn't know any better' is a valid excuse

  • Kelly
    More than a year ago
    Watch out for crazies with greyhounds

    I love this dog park. Please note that we aren't all homocidal maniacs like Aaron (see below).

  • Kelsey
    More than a year ago
    Great park!

    I take my mini schnauzer and chihuahua here and they have a blast. Great for socializing young dogs sine there is a small dog/ puppy area. Take Caution when going into large dog area. It seems some large dog owners think aggression is funny.

  • Anonymous
    More than a year ago
    Large dog and Small dog areas

    Wonderful park but the owners need to take better care and make sure to take small dogs into the small dog area and NOT the large dog area. Not all large dogs are good with small dogs and it would be horrible to see anything happen to a smaller dog because a larger dog doesn't know any better.

  • JoJo
    More than a year ago
    Shih tzu/border terrier mix

    Visited park 5-16-10. Well maintained. Good people, good dogs. Excellent for socializing and playing. I want a park like this in my town. Thank you.

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Hillcrest Dog Park