Chicago Dog Park Coalition
Chicago's dog parks, working together
The Chicago Dog Park Coalition connects the volunteers behind Chicago's Dog Friendly Areas so they can share resources and advocate collectively for better dog parks citywide.
The basics
What's a DFA?
Dog Friendly Area, explained
The official vocabulary matters when you are asking the Park District for something.The official term
"DFA" stands for Dog Friendly Area, the Chicago Park District's official name for a fenced, off-leash dog park.
33 across the city
Chicago has 33 official DFAs, from small neighborhood lots to large destination parks, each with its own quirks and community.
Run by local volunteers
Almost every DFA is kept running by a handful of local volunteers, most of them working alone without a way to reach the people doing the same job a few miles away.
Why coordinate?
Share resources
Surfaces, drainage, fundraising, events, and maintenance: another park has already solved the problem in front of you, and coordination is how that solution reaches you.
Advocate collectively
A collective ask from parks across the city carries more weight than any one park raising the same issue alone.
Learn from each other's wins
See what worked elsewhere, borrow it, and avoid repeating the mistakes other volunteers already made.
Join the coalition
If you spend time at any of Chicago's dog parks, you belong here. Whether you help run a DFA or show up with your dog, sign up to be counted. Membership is free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.