New Marion K9 Dog Park Gives Pets a Place to Stretch Their Legs

Lots of smiles and joyful panting were on hand for the grand opening of the new off leash dog park park in Marion. 

“All you have to mention is the word ‘park’ at our house and they both are at the door,” Kelly Ennis told the Gazette about her dogs. “That’s their favorite place to go.”

The K9 Acres Dog Park is located at Squaw Creek Park on 5200 Golf Course Road in Marion near Gardner Golf Course. This makes two dog parks in the area, but the other, Cheyenne Park, closed due to flooding, the Gazette reports. 

It costs $6 to use the park per visit, with an honor system deposit box. Or, you can get an annual permit to use the parks at a cost of $27 per year, but with a $5 discount if the dog is spayed or neutered and another $5 discount if the dog passes a recall test. Permits may be purchased at Animal Control, 2109 N. Towne Lane NE. Phone number is (319) 286-5993. 

Here's info about the park from the City of Cedar Rapids: 

K9 Acres is an 11-acre fenced facility with three use areas. 

The largest is the Main Off-leash Yard which is approximately 8.1 acres in size, is fully grassed and includes a walking trail, waste receptacles, trees and a small park storage building. Future amenities in this area include benches and small shelters. 

The second largest area is the Training Yard. It is 1.8 acres in size and is also fully grassed with trees. The purpose of the Training Yard is to provide an area to train dogs that are not yet fully socialized enough to use the Main Off-leash Area. It is also used for various training classes and events. 

The smallest area is the 1.1 acre Small Dog Yard. This grassy area with trees provides a space for smaller dogs to run without the danger of inadvertently being hurt by larger dogs in the Main Yard. The park entrance and the Main Yard have double-gated, split entry and exit areas. The two smaller yards currently have single gates with double-gated systems planned for the future.

A graveled parking lot at the front entry to the park will accommodate up to 40 cars at a time with overflow parking available on both sides of the main driveway. The parking lot will be seal coated in the near future. A restroom, a non-potable water source for dogs and a dumpster (for park waste and garbage) are available at the entrance to the park. Waste receptacles and dog bag dispensers are scattered throughout the park.