Barkley Square

The grand opening of this park was 04-14-07. It is located at 1010 N. Ridgewood Avenue in Deland. The park sits on 14 acres of grassy hills with mature oaks and a pond for pups to take a cool-down dip.

Note of 12-04-07: One of our readers sent us the following observations of this park after a recent visit:

"When we first visited Barkley Square just outside Deland a few months ago, we were delighted to find a large, well maintained park. It is located on several acres of rolling hills with a small pond in the large dog section.

"The small dog area is larger than most of the dog parks' combined area. My guess is that the large dog park is six acres or more of what appears to have been pasture land. There are excellent drinking and shower areas for the dogs on both sides of the park. Waste bags and trash cans are located throughout the park as are benches for owners tired from their long walks with the dogs. Also for human comfort, there is a very nice parking area and public restrooms for the dog owners.

"The small dog park has a great deal of shaded area for warmer days. The large dog park also has several large trees, but is mostly open grassland. It is as ideal a dog park as one could be expected."

Note of 12-03-07: One of our readers sent the following comments about this park after a recent visit:

"I like the gates. They are self-closing. No more people 'forgetting' to close the gates. It doesn't help with people that deliberately hold them open, but at least it is a start. It is nice that they incorporated restrooms into the dog park. Most other parks don't have them or they are in other areas of the park and are more difficult to reach.

"I love the size, LOTS of room for dogs to run, play and sniff. Sloping, practically hilly, some nice trees, lots of grass. It looks like the owner would definitely get some exercise in addition to the dog. Benches seem to be spaced around the park fairly well.

"The pond is about the right size for dogs that like water. The pond looked a bit 'scummy', but hey, all natural bodies of water are looking a bit off during this drought. The biggest concern about this pond is that almost EVERYTHING in the dog park slopes toward the pond. If people don’t pick up after their dogs, this could be a problem unless the county has planned ahead. The information that I saw about this park indicated that the pond is lined, so I assume that means it can be pumped and cleaned just like a pond in your backyard.

"I didn’t see an area to hose your dog off (especially after he has been in the pond), but I may have missed it. My only other concern was the number of children in the dog park. It was a Sunday, but the proportion of children to dogs was a bit high. I don’t know if people are using this as a 'people' park or if the nice weather [when we were there] had everyone taking the 'whole family' to the dog park."

Note of 04-17-07: Thanks to the kind reader who told us about this park, saying, "My dogs had never had so much fun as they did today. This is hands down the most beautiful dog park that I have visited thus far.

NOTE: We can't visit every area on a regular basis, so if you have information about any dog parks or beaches, or any other animal recreation facilities, in the Deland area, please contact FloridaPets.net.