Aug 24, 2026

The $3 Off-Leash Pass: Cherry Creek, Chatfield and 3 Dogs Instead of 2

Denver's city dog parks are free and cap a handler at two dogs. Two state parks on the edge of the metro sell an off-leash pass for $3 a day covering a handler and up to three, which changes the maths for a three-dog household.

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

Denver, Colorado10 min readThings to Do

Denver's city dog parks are free, and they cap a handler at two dogs. Two state parks on the edge of the metro sell an off-leash pass for $3 a day, covering a handler and up to three dogs.

That is a genuinely unusual arrangement. Most states either allow off-leash areas or they do not. Colorado sells access to them by the day, as a separate line item alongside the vehicle pass.

Here is what each park charges, what the pass covers, and when paying beats free.

The two parks, side by side

	Cherry Creek State Park	Chatfield State Park
Address	4201 South Parker Road, Aurora	11500 N. Roxborough Park Rd., Littleton
Phone	303-690-1166	303-791-7275
Daily vehicle pass	$10 to $15	$12 to $17
Individual daily pass	not listed	$4
Dog off-leash daily pass	$3	$3
Dog off-leash annual pass	$25	$25
What the off-leash pass covers	handler and up to three dogs	handler and up to three dogs
Animals permitted	leashed dogs, service animals, horses	leashed dogs, service animals, horses
Park hours	see the park's page	daily 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Both from Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Cherry Creek and Chatfield.

How the pricing actually works

Read the structure rather than the headline, because it is two charges rather than one.

The vehicle pass gets you and the car into the park. Cherry Creek publishes $10 to $15 daily, Chatfield $12 to $17 daily with a $4 individual daily pass for anyone arriving on foot or by bike.

The off-leash pass is separate, and it is the cheap part: $3 for a day, or $25 for a year. Both parks describe it identically as covering "Handler and up to three dogs".

So a single day out with one dog at Chatfield is a $12 to $17 vehicle pass plus $3, and the same day at Cherry Creek is $10 to $15 plus $3.

The annual off-leash pass pays for itself in nine visits, at $25 against $3 a day, which makes it a resident's purchase rather than a visitor's. If you are in town for a week and plan two mornings, the daily pass is the right call.

Cherry Creek adds two further small charges to note so the total does not surprise you at the gate: a Water Basin Authority fee of $1 daily or $3 annually, which the park describes as supporting reservoir water quality.

Three dogs, which is the real difference

Denver's own dog park rules state that "Any one person may not be in charge of more than two (2) dogs at a time."

The state's off-leash pass is written for a handler and up to three.

For a three-dog household that is the whole decision. Inside Denver you need two adults to take three dogs to a dog park legally. At Cherry Creek or Chatfield, one adult and $3 covers it.

What the parks are, in one line each

Cherry Creek is built around an 880 surface-acre reservoir, in what the park describes as "a natural prairie environment of gentle, rolling hills", with over 40 mammals and 171 bird species recorded. It sits in Aurora, on the south-east side of the metro.

Chatfield sits along the South Platte River "where it flows out of the mountains onto the prairie at the mouth of Waterton Canyon", in Littleton on the south-west side, and its published hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Which one you use is mostly a question of which side of the metro you are on. Both are a straightforward drive from central Denver.

Leashed is the default, everywhere else in both parks

This is the part that gets misread. Both parks list "Animals Permitted: Leashed Dogs, Service Animals, Horses".

The off-leash pass buys access to a designated off-leash area, not to the whole park. Everywhere else inside the boundary, the dog is on a lead like any other visitor's.

Two related habits worth carrying, both from the wider practice we have seen across state park systems:

Keep the dog out of swimming areas unless a sign says otherwise. Reservoir beaches and boat ramps are shared with a lot of people who did not come for a dog.

Assume no dogs in buildings. Visitor centres are usually a hard no, so plan for one person to wait outside.

We have not read a Colorado-wide pet rules page this pass, so we are not quoting one. What we can point to is each park's own page, which is what a ranger will hold you to.

When paying beats free

Take the paid option when you have three dogs. Covered above, and it is the clearest case.

Take it when you want space rather than a pen. Denver's dog parks are urban, and several of the seventeen are pocket-sized. A state park off-leash area is a different scale of walk.

Take it after dark stops being an option. Denver's city rule is stark: unlighted dog parks close at sundown, and Railyard Dog Park at 19th and Little Raven is the only one with lighting. Chatfield's gates are open until 10 p.m., so a summer evening works there.

Take the free option when the drive is the problem. Seventeen free dog parks inside the city beats a forty-minute round trip for a twenty-minute run, and the city's list gives cross streets for each one.

The Denver rules that follow you out there

Two city rules apply to your dog rather than to the ground, so they matter wherever you go in the metro.

Sterilisation. Denver requires dogs over six months to be spayed or neutered, with an intact permit as the exception, and its dog park rules require it for entry. The city's published fine for a spay and neuter violation starts at $250, per its administrative citations schedule. Our spaying and neutering your pet guide covers the decision as the veterinary question it is.

Breed. Denver requires a Breed-Restricted Permit for American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers, and its own FAQ says a visiting dog needs one to be within city and county limits at any time. That is on the city's Breed-Restricted Permits page, and it is the single biggest planning item for anyone travelling to Denver with a bully-type dog. Cherry Creek is in Aurora and Chatfield is in Littleton, both outside Denver city and county, and the sensible move is to ask Denver Animal Protection on 3-1-1 rather than draw your own jurisdictional map.

Practical notes for a state park morning

Buy the pass at the gate or the visitor centre, and expect two transactions rather than one.

Check the hours for your park. Chatfield publishes 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Cherry Creek publishes visitor centre and campground office hours seasonally rather than a single gate time, so plan around the office being open if you need to buy anything in person.

Bring water. Prairie parks in a Colorado summer are exposed, and Denver's own guidance is blunt about heat: the city notes that "summer temperatures can climb into the triple digits" and that a car interior "can reach 120°F in a matter of minutes". Our summer heat safety for pets guide covers the surface test and the early signs.

Know your nearest hospital before you go. For Chatfield it is VEG Littleton at 5066 South Wadsworth Way in Lakewood on (720) 780-3311; for Cherry Creek it is VEG Denver Tech Center at 6305 East Hampden Avenue on (720) 739-6003. Our emergency vet, what to know guide covers the call itself.

Check the microchip registration, because an unfenced off-leash area in an 880-acre park is exactly where a recall failure becomes a search. Our microchipping your pet guide covers keeping it current.

What the pass does not cover

Three honest limits, because a $3 pass is not a licence to do anything.

It is not an entry pass. Both parks charge separately for the vehicle or the individual, and the off-leash pass sits on top of that.

It is not park-wide. Both parks list animals permitted as "Leashed Dogs, Service Animals, Horses", so outside the designated off-leash area the lead goes back on like anyone else's.

It is not a substitute for recall. An open off-leash area in a park measured in hundreds of acres is a different proposition from a fenced urban pen. Our dog park etiquette guide covers judging that honestly, and the honest answer for many dogs is a long line rather than freedom.

Which park to choose, by where you are

Staying downtown or east: Cherry Creek, at 4201 South Parker Road in Aurora, is the shorter drive, and the reservoir gives the walk a focal point.

Staying west or south-west: Chatfield, at 11500 N. Roxborough Park Rd. in Littleton, sits where the South Platte comes out of the mountains, and its published 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. gate hours make it the better evening option.

Either way, buy the pass when you enter rather than assuming you can sort it at the off-leash area, and keep the receipt where you can find it.

Conclusion

Colorado sells off-leash access by the day, and it is cheap: $3 at Cherry Creek in Aurora or Chatfield in Littleton, covering one handler and up to three dogs, on top of a vehicle pass of $10 to $17.

Denver's city dog parks are free and cap you at two dogs, so the state parks are the answer for a three-dog household, for space rather than a pen, and for a summer evening after the city's unlighted parks have closed at sundown.

Frequently asked questions

Do Colorado state parks charge extra for off-leash dogs?

Yes, at these two. Cherry Creek and Chatfield both publish a dog off-leash daily pass at $3 and an annual pass at $25, described as covering a handler and up to three dogs, in addition to the park entry pass.

What does it cost to get into Cherry Creek State Park?

A daily vehicle pass of $10 to $15, plus $3 for the dog off-leash daily pass if you want the off-leash area, plus a Water Basin Authority fee of $1 daily or $3 annually.

What does it cost to get into Chatfield State Park?

A daily vehicle pass of $12 to $17, or a $4 individual daily pass, plus $3 for the dog off-leash daily pass.

How many dogs can one handler take off leash at these parks?

Three. Both parks describe the off-leash pass as covering a handler and up to three dogs, which is one more than Denver's city dog parks allow.

Are dogs off leash everywhere in the park?

No. Both parks list animals permitted as leashed dogs, service animals and horses, so the off-leash pass applies to the designated off-leash area and the lead goes back on elsewhere.

What are Chatfield State Park's hours?

The park is open daily 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the office open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the campground office daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sources

Fees and hours change. Confirm with Colorado Parks and Wildlife before you rely on any of it.