Grand Ravines Dog Park - Ottawa County

07/18/2024

https://www.miottawa.org/Parks/pdf/dog_park_rules.pdf

03/23/2024

Need a summer job? Positions available countywide including at Grand Ravines, Hager, and the Lakeshore. http://miottawa.org/apply

11/29/2023

Over the next week, Park staff will be placing a layer of sand in the muddy areas of the West dog Paddock. During that time the other large Paddock will be temporarily reopened. The sand will hopefully mitigate the mud all winter and in the spring we will till it in and plant new grass seed after we switch back to the east Paddock.

11/07/2023

Please remember that treats are not permitted in the dog park. Treats can cause aggressive behavior in some dogs and unfamiliar food can get some dogs sick. For everyone's safety, please leave the treats at home.

09/05/2023

An important PSA for visitors of Grand Ravines Dog Park 📢

We want everyone to enjoy their park experience, and we know it is heartbreaking to have any of your items stolen. Our parks are safe places but, unfortunately, thieves will strike parking lots anywhere there is opportunity. Here are a few precautions the Sheriff's Office recommends you take to help prevent theft from happening to you:

🔐 Make sure to ALWAYS lock your car
🧐 Keep purses, electronics, and other valuables out of sight
🚗 If you must leave stuff in your car, lock them in your trunk

07/01/2023

Dog Park Reminders! 🐾

◾️ We have been notified of several instances of aggressive dog behavior at the park. If your dog has a history of aggressive behavior, please do not bring them into the shared area. If your dog starts to get aggressive with other dogs, we ask that you leash and remove your dog for the safety of all other dogs enjoying the shared space. We know that even good dogs can have bad days.

◾️ Dogs may NOT be off-leash in the parking lot. It can be tempting to walk off-leash outside of the park, but a lot could go wrong - on the paved paths there are walkers, runners, bikers, strollers, kids, and on-leash dogs - and they may not appreciate being greeted by a dog.

◾️ Dogs must wear a collar and display a valid license and current rabies vaccination.

Please be respectful of other park visitors and follow the rules. Find all rules here: miottawa.org/Parks/pdf/dog_park_rules.pdf

04/24/2023

We want everyone to enjoy their park experience, and we know it is heartbreaking to have any of your items stolen. Our parks are safe places, but like anywhere else, visitors should use precautions with valuables.
🔐 Make sure to ALWAYS lock your car
🧐 Keep purses, electronics, and other valuables out of sight
🚗 If you must leave stuff in your car, lock them in your trunk
Help us spread the word by sharing this post!!

You're walking to your car and something doesn't look quite right. 😠 And then you see it: Your window is broken. Your heart sinks and your blood pressure rises. 😡 Having items you've worked hard for stolen or damaged is infuriating and it feels downright crummy--not to mention the inconvenience of it all. There are a few things that the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office - Michigan recommends to help prevent theft from happening to you:
🎯 Thieves strike parking lots ANYWHERE there is an opportunity. Even parks, churches, and your driveway at home can be targets.
🧐 Thieves are more likely to do so if purses, electronics, or bags are in view.
🔑 There are no "safe areas" so ALWAYS lock your car, even at home.
🛍️ If you *must* leave valuables with your car, locking them in the trunk is a much safer option.
📣 Help us share this message to prevent others from being victims of this crime, too.

03/27/2023

Mud! The dog park is muddy right now, and it will get worse this spring before it gets better. Over the years the parks have created drainage ditches, installed paved paths, and installed drainage tiles all to help deal with the mud. Every year we continue to make improvements. We rotate the paddocks strategically so that we always have one paddock recovering. We won't rotate outside the growing season because when the other paddock gets destroyed (in a matter of days), there would just be 2 muddy paddocks and no way to grow grass.
The small dog area usually looks better because smaller dogs do not rip up the turf as much. However, when dog owners disregard rules and bring bigger dogs into the small do area, it too will get destroyed and muddy. The solution is not more signs or a scale to weigh dogs. It is just to know that a clay-soiled dog park will be muddy and just because it is muddy it does not give anyone the right to break the rules and ruin the small dog area.
We want to keep this dog park free for everyone to use, but if we need to employ more staff to enforce rules and diffuse conflicts, that cost will need to be recovered with a fee. But unfortunately, no amount of additional staffing or fees charged will make the dog park any less muddy.
Please do your part and follow the rules and be kind to your fellow park users.

05/16/2022

The east all dog play area is now officially open! Look at that green grass 😎 The west paddock has closed for mud mitigation, followed by re-seeding.

🐾🐾🐾 THANK YOU 🐾🐾🐾 so much to everyone who has generously supported the mud mitgation work in the west paddock! With your help we have raised $2,500 for the project. Although the work has commenced, if you are interested in supporting the project, there is still time: https://ottawacountyparksfoundation.org/donate-to-grand-ravine-dog-park

05/03/2022

Updates:
🐾 The drinking fountains are on for the season!
🐾 The east side area will open on May 16 (the west side are will close at this time)
🐾 The Ottawa County Parks Foundation is still collecting donations for mud mitigation at the park: ottawacountyparksfoundation.org/donate-to-grand-ravine-dog-park

Thank you for all of the support so far!

04/27/2022

Ottawa County Parks & Recreation will be taking steps to reduce the standing water in the west dog park paddock. This should help reduce the muddy conditions. Donations previously made to the dog park will be used to fund the installation of drainage tiles in the park. Though, this project cost will exceed the balance of the dog park donations we have received.
The Ottawa County Parks Foundation is collecting donations to help make up the remaining balance needed to cover the costs of this project. You can help by making a donation today to support improvements to Grand Ravines Dog Park. The total project cost is $23,500 and we hope to raise $10,000 towards the project between now and May 15: ottawacountyparksfoundation.org/donate-to-grand-ravine-dog-park

Thank you!

03/22/2022

Dog Park Reminders! 🐾
🐾 EDIT: The fountains will be turned on in May, once the overnight temperatures are above freezing (apologies for the misreporting in a previous post).
🐾 We have been receiving a lot of calls about big dogs in the small dog play area. If your pup is over 25lbs, please use the other areas of the dog park. Small dogs are allowed in all open areas of the park.
🐾 Please be respectful of other park visitors and follow the rules. They are posted on the path as you walk into the park.
🐾 It is muddy this time of year... bring along a towel for your car!