Located just south of Marina Mile (State Road 84) and a little west of Federal Highway is Snyder Park and the home of Bark Park, one of Fort Lauderdale’s dog-friendly parks. I’ll be visiting as many dog friendly areas in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area in the coming days to give you a selection of cool places where pups are welcome.
Bark Park features two very spacious fenced-in play areas for dogs to roam – one for all and one for small dogs only. There’s also an agility course, plenty of water stations, a couple of water hoses for muddy clean up and a covered area for folks to relax while the dogs run off all their excess energy.
Bark Park at Snyder Park is probably the most popular of the Fort Lauderdale dog-friendly facilities and seems to always have a friendly crowd enjoying the camaraderie of the playful pups and their owners. Bark Park is also the most well maintained with the fewest mud-patches. It’s clear that regular maintenance and care of the grass is undertaken with fresh sod and landscaping.
In addition to the play areas in Bark Park, Snyder Park allows dogs to play and swim in the east lake.
During the week, entry is free! On weekends, the park charges $1 per hour per car, or $5 for all-day, to use all the facilities at Snyder Park whether you’re there with your dog or for the other recreational facilities at the park.
To use the pet-friendly facilities, users are supposed to get an annual dog-park-permit from the City of Fort Lauderdale for $30 ($45 for non-residents.) I’ve never seen anyone checking for dog-permits and I doubt anyone actually has one as you can only get a permit by stopping by in person to purchase the permit at 1350 West Broward Boulevard (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
Here’s the City of Fort Lauderdale’s guide to Dog Friendly Areas: http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/cityparks/dogs.htm
Snyder Park’s website: http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/cityparks/snyder/index.htm
And Bark Park’s: http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/cityparks/snyder/barkpark/index.htm
