Confederate Park

I love this dog park so much! Its centrally located, very large, well maintained, always active with other dogs and best of all its COMPLETELY FREE! There are several reason why I go and I high recommend you try this dog park. I love that there are several dog waste stations strategically placed throughout the park. There are also water fountains for you and your puppy, a puppy pool, and water hose. There is also a separate section for small dogs or you can bring them over to the main dog area. Please keep in mind, that if it has rained with in the last 3 days, the dog park can be pretty muddy and at times flooded in some sections. For the most part it doesn't stop me from bring my Chloe out there but bring a towel just in case. The dogs tend to love to play in the mud.

This is the very best dog park I have ever been to! It is pretty and large. Well maintained with hoses and water to boot! My Ratties loved it! Sofia even used the pool and she never does that!

This is a family decent dog park in downtown. The fact that it is free is what brought us to check it out. We weren't disappointed. We hadn't expected 5-star quality, being free and all, and we didn't receive it either. But it was nice nonetheless. This place is a simple, open green space with nice Palm trees and a paved walkway around the perimeter. There is a water fountain bowl for the dogs as well as a hosing station for those days after it rains. When it does rain were told the whole green is swampy and the dogs get soaked/muddy. I'm sure the dogs love this but I'm not crazy about it. There are also benches periodically around the walkway.Anyway, it was a beautiful day today and our dog really enjoyed the chance to stretch his legs in an area bigger than our tiny box of a yard. This park is in downtown, so it may not seem like the safest of neighborhoods to suburbians like us, but we didn't feel threatened at all, and there were others here, too. The people were friendly and the dogs played nice. The entrance is a double gateway, which is a nice touch. They also have doggie waste bags on a stand as you walk in in case you forgot (and the space looked like pet owners pick up after their dogs). We're really glad we checked this place out - well be back for sure, maybe with Yelp friends next time!

3.5 Stars: Nice large park, with amenities, paved walked ways, though lacking poop bags = smelly. (All based on initial visit only at this time)Pros: - Large and small dog park- Paved walkways in both- Lots of seating, 1/2 with roofs, and 1/4 with trees for shade- Lots of area to run- Well cut grass- Free- Large park with paved trail all the way around the park- Amenities: Water fountains, for people and pups, pup swimming pools, hoses, many toysCons: - 5 out of 5 doggy poop bag stations were empty; poop all over the grass (main reason to lose points, all the poop was outrageous)- small dog park with large gate unable to fully close- No Restrooms- Doggy pools beat down and broken

There is free parking with bathrooms and water fountain on site. We went in the morning when there were a few people and the ground keeper. The ground keeper told us how he keeps a good eye on the park so there is no drinking or drugs so its a good environment for children. He also said the park was 8 acers, but we only walked a few of the acers. The park includes a walking path around a large pond, a dog park, and a playground for kids. Along the one side of the walking path is a bridge with unique fencing along a canal. We noticed the canal water was high and was leaking under the bridge onto the ground into the pond so they blocked off the one end of the bridge. There is a big monument with a statue of a women with children donate to commemorate the women during the Civil War which I thought was a sweet way to thank our mothers. The park is well kept and there is a rose archway. The playground has many fun things to do and is in great condition. Next to the park is a Masonic Center with Egyptian Artwork on the outside which was cool to see in addition. The park isn't surrounded by restaurants, shops, and other city attractions. There are different rules for the pond area, dog area, and the playground so make sure to read those before planning an activity.

Someone recommended this place to me. It's nice, decent, and free. Make sure you watch your dog with other dogs especially through the fence! My puppy is so sweet and friendly. He went up to the fence from the small dog park side to sniff two large Malamute mix dogs and one of them snapped at him. My puppy ran away crying really loud! The woman had the nerve to say her dog doesn't like puppies! Well woman put your dogs in the large dog park where they belong and not on the basketball court! Later that night we went home and found out he was bleeding on his nose. The next day I was worried about him having bacteria in his nose that I took him to the vet where they showed me that he got bit twice! He was only 10 weeks old when this happened! I just hope this doesn't scare him for life from large dogs cause he loves everyone.

This dog park is beautiful. I went with my friend who had a dog and I sat there wanting a dog just so I could come back. So many dogs for her dog to play with. So much running room and there's even a smaller park for smaller dogs. There's a washing station for when your pup rolls around in mud and tons of places for the humans to sit and enjoy watching the puppers run. I will say you're going to read other reviews that say the park is nice but the area is not safe. I'm going to be very honest, Springfield has a bad rap for being unsafe. But if you really pay attention you'll see that there is a ton of revitalization. Hints why the park is so nice. If you want a place to be nice you can't flee from it you have to go in and change it. I'll keep going there just to bring life back to it. If you're a single female than you need to watch yourself wherever you go. Be smart don't go some place by yourself anyways, to anywhere. Don't run away from it look at ways you can make it better because it's not just a neighborhood, it's still a part of Jacksonville. Look up SPAR (Springfield Preservation and Revitalization) go to Uptown, Sailors and Sparrows, Sweet Pete's, visit the many beautiful houses during the home tour.

This is a really great, public (and therefore free), overall clean dog park! Will be coming back weekly! Perfect for our lab who lives in an apartment. She had plenty of room, and lots of new friends!

I'll keep my melodramatic review to a minimum. I will start by saying that we had to rush our dog out of the park because of aggressive, unmonitored dogs. Our dog (a sweet Doberman puppy) was corned by three aggressive dogs while attempting to play fetch. The owner of two of the dogs was in the opposite side of the park sitting on a bench. The other owner was unable to control her greyhound. While we tried to break up the cornering of our dog, other owners noted that "nothing" was going on. While they monitored our behavior they weren't paying attention to their two dogs crouching under the bench and between their legs. Just saying.Another disappointing aspect of the park was the amount of stool on the ground. Large and small, fresh and dated mounds. Surprising as the park provides trash bags, washing area and trash cans. I really wanted to like this park. I like to support dog friendly communities. unfortunately the lack of owner responsibility makes this park an unsanitary and unfriendly spot.

This park seemed okay. There's plenty of space for the bigger dogs to run around, but the side for the smaller dogs was a bit small. I was bummed there were no smaller dogs there, nobody for my little pup to play with.