Aug 19, 2026

Colorado Springs Has 7 City Off-Leash Areas: Only 4 Are Fenced

Colorado Springs sorts its seven off-leash areas into unfenced dog runs and fenced dog parks, and the difference decides which one suits your dog. Plus the county park that beats all seven.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Colorado Springs, Colorado13 min readThings to Do

Colorado Springs runs seven off-leash areas inside the city, and the city itself sorts them into two groups that mean very different things on the ground. Three are unfenced. Four are fenced. If you drive to one expecting a gate and a boundary and get open ground running toward a road instead, that is the distinction that caught you out.

The city says it plainly on its own dog parks page: "City Code requires all dogs be on a leash while in city parks and on city trails." The off-leash areas are named exceptions to that rule, not a general permission, and the exception only holds inside the mapped boundary.

That single sentence is worth more than any ranked list, because it tells you what happens the moment you step outside one of these seven areas. You are back under the leash rule immediately, on the same walk, without a sign necessarily telling you so.

The seven at a glance

The city's own labels are in the left column. "Dog run" is the city's term for a large unfenced area. "Dog park" is its term for a fenced enclosure.

Area	City label	Fenced	Where exactly
Garden of the Gods Park	Dog run	No	East of Rock Ledge Ranch, south of Gateway Rd
Red Rock Canyon Open Space	Dog run	No	Upper and Lower dog loops, south of the main lot
Palmer Park, Yucca Flats	Dog run	No	Yucca Flats area
Cheyenne Meadows Park	Dog park	Yes	South portion, off Charmwood Dr and Canoe Creek Dr
Palmer Park, old baseball field	Dog park	Yes	0.3 miles from the Maizeland entrance
Rampart Park	Dog park	Yes	Just east of the baseball diamond
Antlers Park	Dog park	Yes	Downtown

Palmer Park appears twice on purpose. The city lists it as both an unfenced dog run at Yucca Flats and a separate fenced dog park at the old baseball field. They are different places inside one park, and turning up at the wrong one is an easy mistake.

1. Antlers Park, downtown and properly fenced

Start here if your dog does not have a reliable recall. Antlers Park is the downtown dog park, and it is the only one of the seven the city describes in any physical detail.

From the city's Antlers Dog Park page: "The space includes two separate play areas, one for small dogs and another for larger dogs, and features a large fence with double gates, synthetic turf, a sitting area, play amenities and a dog water station."

Read that list again, because four things in it matter. Two separate areas means a small dog is not sharing ground with a boisterous large one. Double gates means an airlock, so a dog that bolts at the gate hits a second barrier rather than the street. Synthetic turf means no mud after the afternoon storms that Colorado Springs gets through the summer. A water station means you are not rationing what you carried in.

It sits within the Downtown Historic Parks project, so it is walkable from a downtown hotel rather than a drive. The city does not publish acreage or opening hours for it, so this guide does not invent either. Check the sign at the gate.

2. Rampart Park, fenced, and easy to find once you know the landmark

Just east of the baseball diamond, per the city, which is the only location detail it publishes. Rampart is on the north side of town, which makes it the practical pick if you are staying up that way rather than driving downtown.

The city does not publish acreage, hours, or whether there is a separate small dog area here, so this guide states none of those. The shared dog park rules below apply here as they do at every fenced enclosure. Note that the city's published dog map covers Garden of the Gods only, so it will not help you at this site.

3. Cheyenne Meadows Park, fenced, the south-side option

Fenced, and described by the city as a native grass area in the south portion of the park, off Charmwood Dr and Canoe Creek Dr.

Native grass rather than the synthetic turf at Antlers is the detail that matters here. Grass seed and burrs work into a long coat and between pads, so this is a check-the-paws-and-ears stop before the dog gets back in the car. It is also the one surface on this list that turns to mud after a storm.

As with Rampart, the city publishes no acreage or hours for it. Treat the sign at the gate as the authority.

4 and 5. Palmer Park, one fenced area and one unfenced

Palmer Park is the only site that gives you a choice, and it accounts for two of the seven. Number 4 is the fenced dog park at the old baseball field, which the city places 0.3 miles from the Maizeland entrance. Number 5 is Yucca Flats, an unfenced dog run in the same park. Same address, two very different propositions.

That 0.3 miles matters. It is not at the entrance. Budget the walk in, and in July budget it against the heat, because Colorado Springs afternoons build fast. Our guide to summer heat safety for pets covers the pavement test that decides whether the walk in is a good idea at all.

6. Red Rock Canyon Open Space, unfenced, two loops rather than one

There are two dog loops here, not one, and most write-ups mention only a single off-leash area. The city's Red Rock Canyon Open Space page lists "Upper and Lower dog loops (off-leash dog areas)" among its trails, and names an off-leash dog area in its amenities.

The same page draws the boundary you need: "Dirt trails for pedestrians, bikes, horses and leashed dogs (on trails other than the off-leash areas)." So the rest of Red Rock Canyon is leashed walking with bikes and horses moving through it. The dog loops are the carve-out.

The loops sit south of the main parking lot. Amenities include a picnic pavilion and portable toilets at both main parking lots, which is more than most open space offers. Rock climbing here needs a permit, which is a useful thing to know if your group is splitting up. The city bought the property in 2003.

7. Garden of the Gods, unfenced, where two official rules sit side by side

This is the one place where you should read both sources before you unclip anything. The city lists a Garden of the Gods dog run, unfenced, east of Rock Ledge Ranch and south of Gateway Rd. The park's own rules say something different.

From the Garden of the Gods park rules: "Pets are welcome in the park but must be on at least a 6' leash at all times and all pet waste must be removed. Pet Owners are also responsible for picking up any pet waste. Doggie cleanup bags are available at the Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center in the designated pet area."

Both statements are current and both are official. This guide is not going to pretend one cancels the other. What it will say is the practical version: treat Garden of the Gods as a leashed park unless you are certain you are standing inside the mapped dog-run boundary. The main formations, the paved central loop, and everything a first-time visitor actually walks are leashed ground. Pull up the city's dog map before you go if you intend to use the run.

The cleanup bags at the Visitor and Nature Center are a genuinely useful detail. The designated pet area there is where to head first.

Bear Creek Dog Park, the biggest one, and it is not the city's

If you only visit one off-leash area in Colorado Springs, this is probably it, and it does not appear on the city's list at all. The city page says why: "Don't see the dog park you are looking for? It might be maintained by El Paso County Parks."

Bear Creek Dog Park is run by El Paso County Parks, and the county calls it its most visited park site, with more than 100,000 visitors a year. It is a 25-acre fenced off-leash area inside Bear Creek Regional Park, established in 1997 and open year-round.

The county describes the ground as "open prairie, hills, woods and a 1/3-mile-long stretch of Bear Creek." Water your dog can get into, in a dry climate, is the reason people drive across town for this one.

Its published facilities are worth listing because no city park matches them:

25 acres of fenced off-leash area
A separate 2-acre small dog and senior dog area
Miles of walking trails
Access to Bear Creek
An agility training area, installed in 2014
Dog drinking fountains
A dog washing area
Complimentary cleanup bags

Hours are dawn to dusk, not the longer hours some city parks keep, so an evening visit in winter closes early. Restrooms sit just inside the gate and stay open year round.

To find it: from I-25 take exit 141, head west on Highway 24, signed Cimarron, to 21st Street, then south about a mile to West Rio Grande Street. Park at the northwest corner of 21st and West Rio Grande. The county parks department is on (719) 520-7529.

The rules that catch visitors out

These are the city's own dog park rules, and two of them surprise people.

A person at least 16 years of age must be inside the enclosure with the dog
Dogs stay on a leash until inside the enclosure
No more than three dogs per person
A dog with a history of aggressive behavior must wear a muzzle
Owners are responsible and liable for their dogs' behavior at all times
Owners must pick up after their pets
Dogs must be properly inoculated, licensed, and not in breeding condition
Pinch and spike collars must be removed before entering the enclosure
A flat buckle collar with license, rabies and identification tags is recommended

The prong collar rule is the one to plan for. If your dog walks on a pinch or spike collar, you need a flat buckle collar in the car, because the training collar comes off at the gate. Bring the spare rather than discovering this on arrival.

The age rule is the second. A 14-year-old cannot take the family dog into the enclosure alone, which changes who does the morning walk on a family trip.

If your dog is new to shared off-leash space, our dog park etiquette guide covers reading the room before you unclip.

Which one to pick

Downtown and want a fence: Antlers Park.

A long outing with water and space: Bear Creek Dog Park, and go early because it closes at dusk.

A small or senior dog that needs its own ground: Bear Creek's two-acre separate area, or the small dog side at Antlers.

Hiking with a dog on a leash rather than off it: Red Rock Canyon Open Space, where the non-loop trails are leashed and genuinely good walking.

Sightseeing at Garden of the Gods: keep the leash on and enjoy it as a leashed park.

Where these fit in a trip

Colorado Springs is an easy city to build a dog day around because the off-leash ground and the scenery are in the same places. A morning at Bear Creek, a leashed afternoon loop at Garden of the Gods, and a patio in the evening is a full day without leaving the dog anywhere.

For where to sleep, our pet-friendly hotels in Colorado Springs page lists what each property actually charges and allows, and the wider PetCompass hotel directory covers the rest of the state. If you are driving in, the road trips with your dog guide covers the stops.

Conclusion

Seven city off-leash areas, three of them unfenced, plus the county's 25-acre Bear Creek park that outclasses all of them. The number matters less than the fenced-or-not split and the fact that the leash rule resumes the second you leave a designated area.

Take a flat buckle collar for the prong-collar rule, take the city dog map if Garden of the Gods is on your list, and check the sign at the gate for hours, because the city publishes them for almost none of these.

Frequently asked questions

How many off-leash dog parks does Colorado Springs have?

Seven inside the city, which the city sorts into three unfenced dog runs, at Garden of the Gods Park, Red Rock Canyon Open Space and Palmer Park's Yucca Flats, and four fenced dog parks, at Cheyenne Meadows Park, Palmer Park's old baseball field, Rampart Park and Antlers Park downtown.

Which Colorado Springs off-leash areas are fenced?

Four: Cheyenne Meadows Park in its south portion, Palmer Park's old baseball field, Rampart Park east of the baseball diamond, and Antlers Park downtown. Bear Creek Dog Park, which is run by El Paso County rather than the city, is also fenced across its 25 acres.

Can dogs go off leash at Garden of the Gods?

Read both sources first. The City of Colorado Springs lists a Garden of the Gods dog run, unfenced, east of Rock Ledge Ranch and south of Gateway Rd. The park's own rules say pets must be on at least a 6 foot leash at all times. Both are current, so keep your dog leashed unless you are certain you are inside the mapped dog-run boundary, and check the city's dog map before you go.

What is the biggest dog park in Colorado Springs?

Bear Creek Dog Park, at 25 fenced acres inside Bear Creek Regional Park. El Paso County, which runs it, calls it the county's most visited park site with more than 100,000 visitors a year. It also has a separate 2 acre small dog and senior dog area.

Are prong collars allowed in Colorado Springs dog parks?

No. The city's dog park rules state that pinch and spike collars must be removed before entering the enclosure, and recommend a basic flat buckle collar with license, rabies and identification tags attached. Bring a spare collar if your dog normally walks on a training collar.

How many dogs can one person bring to a Colorado Springs dog park?

Three. The city caps it at no more than three dogs per person, so a group with four dogs needs two adults.

Sources

Hours, fees and park rules change. Confirm on the sign at the gate or with the managing agency before you rely on any of it.