As you drive along Creek Road in Delanco, New Jersey, across the street from a Roller Rink, some trucking facilities, and a FedEx depot, you’d come across something you wouldn’t expect to find in this industrial area of town – one of the larger parks in Burlington County’s park system – Pennington Park.
Pennington Park sits on 140 acres along the Rancocas Creek, just east of the Delaware River in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and boasts not one, but two dog parks. The larger of the two dog parks, at 1 1/2 acres, is designated for larger dogs, while the other dog park, at just over three quarters of an acre, is where the smaller dogs can have fun with their fellow canine brothers and sisters.
On a normal weekend you could find anywhere from 10 to 40 dogs at any given time making use of both the small and large play areas, “But not today, because of the weather,” said Meg Biddle of nearby Moorestown, New Jersey. Biddle, along with her husband Chris, and their Chihuahua-Miniature Pinscher-Shiba mix named Pippin, were the sole occupants of the small play area, or for that matter, of the entire Pennington Park, on this cold, blustery, Sunday morning in February.
This particular park has wonderful walking trails, I bike with the dog, I ride the sandy trails, and there is some macadam trails, I think there’s something for the whole family here, someone could be in the dog park, someone could walk, someone could bike, there’s a playground over there, its really great,” said Biddle.
Each dog park has a pavilion area with numerous picnic tables and benches for dog owners to take a rest after running around with their canine companion through the park. Dog owners and dogs alike will both get a workout as the dogs go thru the various obstacles such as the tunnel, hoops, and steps. Both dog parks are surrounded by a four-foot tall fence, and have a double-gated sally port to prevent dogs from running out as other dogs are entering. There is even a drinking fountain for the dogs within the dog parks.
Although I do not own any dogs, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the large dog park at Pennington Park on one of those busy weekends that have a few dozen dogs present, when my sister-in-law comes to town with her dogs. All of the dog owners that were present had their dogs under control, and the dogs played together nicely. You’ll notice that some owners bring their smaller dogs into the larger dog park if they are used to being around large dogs.
After Fido has his fun in the dog park at the east end of Pennington Park, put a leash on him, and then you can walk the 3.8 miles of trails throughout the park, and let the kids burn some energy on the playground at the west end of the park. Pennington Park has seven picnic pavilions (including the two within the dog parks), numerous fitness stations along the trails, and observation stations overlooking the Rancocas Creek. There are 40 parking spaces at the east end of Pennington Park near the dog park, and 95 parking spaces at the west end of the park near the playground. Full restroom facilities are available at the west end of the park and Porta-Potties are located at the east end.
Pennington Park is open 7a to dusk, and all dogs must be licensed, vaccinated, and wear a collar, I.D., and permit tags at all times, and must be accompanied by a handler 18 or older. Children younger than eight years old are not permitted within the dog park areas for safety reasons. There is a limit of two dogs per handler, and dogs under four months old are prohibited. The dog parks are limited to 20 dogs and 25 handlers in each area.
As his wife rode off on her bike on a trail with Pippin in tow, Chris Biddle said “This is the best dog park in this part of New Jersey,” and I could not agree more.
