August 27, 2022 New Grand Marais Dog Park NOW OPEN!

Go Dog North Shore (GDNS) is pleased to announce the new Grand Marais Dog Park is open for use! Local residents and visitors alike now have access to a 3-acre fenced wooded space to exercise, socialize and train their dogs safe from traffic, predators and traps. Over the last 15 months, GDNS raised nearly $85,000 from individual contributions, business sponsorships and a grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation. In addition, nearly 40 volunteers have spent countless hours preparing the new park for the public to enjoy.

The Grand Marais Dog Park is unlike most dog parks in that it is a large, fenced space that’s almost entirely wooded. Walking trails within the park will allow dogs and their owners to experience the wild woods of Cook County with peace of mind. Visitors will need to be mindful of the uneven terrain, rocks and roots while exploring park’s trails. The main park area is open to all well-behaved dogs and their responsible owners. There is also a fenced “small dog area” with a separate entrance where dogs 25 pounds or less are free to explore.

To celebrate the addition of this community space, Go Dog North Shore will host a grand opening and volunteer appreciation on Saturday, September 10th from noon until 2 pm at the new Grand Marais Dog Park! GDNS board members will be on site to answer any questions about the new dog park or our organization.

The park is owned by the City of Grand Marais and operated through a cooperative agreement by GDNS. The project is and will continue to be independently funded by Go Dog North Shore, a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Cook County. Donations to support the annual operating budget for maintenance of the park are appreciated. Visit www.godognorthshore.org/donate to help support this community asset.

GDNS is humbled by the outpouring of support and enthusiasm that has been expressed for this project. It is a community endeavor in the truest sense!

New Grand Marais Dog Park Update

May 14, 2022

GDNS is pleased to announce that fundraising efforts have exceed expectations! As a result, the full 3-acre park will be developed in one phase instead of two. If we can raise another $20,000 the park will be completed in its entirely this summer which provides significant savings in the long term. In addition, dogs and their owners will have a large wooded space to explore and enjoy sooner than later! If you haven’t contributed to our efforts yet, please visit the “Donate” page to become a part of the GDNS pack! This project is funded entirely by individual donors, grants and business. No taxpayer dollars are committed to developing or maintaining this public space. When the park is complete we will still need your active participation to keep the space available as we will have significant annual costs associated with the park including liability insurance and routine maintenance.

January 17, 2022

In May of 2021 Go Dog North Shore (GDNS) embarked on a rigorous fundraising campaign to raise a minimum of $60,000 to build a new dog park within the City of Grand Marais, MN.  Since then, over 170 individuals and a handful of local businesses have contributed to the campaign.  In addition, in December of 2021, the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation approved and fully funded Go Dog North Shore’s grant proposal in the amount of $10,000. To date, GDNS has raised over $51,000!  “We are so grateful for our supporters, including the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, for investing in this important community asset!” said GDNS Board President, Cathy Quinn.   

 While there is much to celebrate, the fence is not up yet!  GDNS is launching their final fundraising efforts so that they can stay on track with plans to build the new dog park in the spring/summer of 2022.  Since there is no public funding for this project, they continue to rely entirely on individuals, businesses and organizations to make this park a reality.  “GDNS Treasurer Barb Heideman described the project as “a community effort in the truest sense”.

 GDNS formed in 2013 with a mission to promote healthy, active human and dog relationships on Minnesota’s North Shore.  GDNS fulfills its mission by providing a temporary dog park (closed in November of 2021) and by developing the new purpose-built park which will allow dogs to continue to exercise and socialize off-leash safe from predators, traps and traffic.  In addition, GDNS has hosts skijoring races, a walking club and obedience training sessions.

Gunflint Dog Park News

November 21, 2021

Good progress has been made in our quest to raise funds for a new dog park in Grand Marais. To date, we’ve raised approximately $28,000 which puts us almost half way to our goal. We need to keep and ideally, increase our pace in order to have a new park built next summer. Visit our “Donate” page to help us stay on track!

June 12, 2021

Fundraising for a new dog park in Grand Marais is off and running and we need your help. Thanks to a few very generous community members, we have already raised $15,500 in just a few weeks! That leaves us just $40,000 to meet our goal of $65,000 to build a new 1-acre park in the heart of Grand Marais. Please consider donating today through our PayPal account to help us reach our goal. The sooner we raise the funds to put up the fence, the less time our canine companions will have without an off-leash space to exercise, socialize and train safe from predators, traffic and traps!

May 21, 2021

Grand Marais City Council Approves GDNS Draft Dog Park Plan

On May 12, 2021 the Grand Marais City Council agreed to allow GDNS to begin fundraising efforts to create a new dog park in the future Sawtooth Bluff development. The approval is a long-awaited breakthrough for our group that will hopefully minimize the amount of time there is no off-leash access for dogs in the Grand Marais area. The GDNS board of directors is currently developing a robust fundraising strategy that will involve online crowdfunding, grants, business support, individual contributions and events. We estimate that it will cost approximately $65,000 to install 6-foot fencing and develop a parking lot for the 1-acre park. If you would like to become involved in our fundraising efforts or contribute financially to our efforts, reach out to us at godognorthshore@gmail.com. In the meantime, stay tuned for more exciting details in the coming weeks!

May 4, 2021

Changes to Off-Leash Dog Park Access Coming in November 2021

Beginning on November 1, 2021 dogs will no longer be allowed to use the Gunflint Horse Arena and Dog Park. This space was originally designed to serve as a temporary dog park while we work towards creating a more permanent, dog-specific space. In recent months, our fellow users at the current park have decided that they are no longer willing to continue our partnership and have asked that we vacate the premises. While we are disappointed that we will be losing access to this public space prior to securing a new dog park, we believe that this development may ultimately result in a positive outcome. We can now refocus our efforts from fighting to maintain access to the current park to creating a positive, welcoming space that is geared towards dogs and their humans. In the meantime, our volunteers will continue their twice weekly patrols at the current park until November 1st. If you’d like to volunteer for a park patrol you can sign-up online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a084faea62da13-2021.

THE GOOD NEWS

On a positive note, GDNS is making progress towards securing a new location for a dog park. We have developed a proposal that was recently supported by the Cook County Parks & Trails Commission and will be presented to the Grand Marais City Council on Wednesday, May 12th, 2021. If you’d like to livestream the City Council meeting you can do so at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz5rca2blPKrKOWYJGW3TroaGcz1nh23B. If you’re interested in learning more about our plan you can view a copy here.

As we move into this next era we are going to need all of the help we can get. If you’re interested in becoming actively involved in our new dog park endeavor please reach out to us at godognorthshore@gmail.com. Thanks to all of you who have already stepped up to volunteer and/or contribute financially. We are very grateful for your support and excited for the future of our organization, our community and especially for our dogs!

March 27, 2021

Gunflint Dog Park Clean-up Day Saturday, April 3rd!

Please join your fellow Go Doggers for a spring clean-up day at the Gunflint Horse Arena & Dog Park in Grand Marais on Saturday, April 3rd at 9 AM.  Bring your own shovel and bucket or bag.  Garbage bags will be provided for those who need them. If we can get a large enough group we will split into two and do a clean-up of the Grand Marais Rec Park as well. Hope see you there!