First walks in Colorado Springs.
In Colorado Springs, your dog stays on a leash in every park and public place - carrying your dog counts too - with three open dog runs and four fenced dog parks for off-leash play. The city’s own rules and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the City Code of Colorado Springs, HSPPR licensing, and the city’s parks pages.
- 1In any park or public place: a leash - or carried; loose means at large
- 2Off-leash play: the city’s three dog runs and four fenced dog parks
- 3On park land: pick up and carry it out
- 4License from four months - rabies vaccination first
- 5Tags on the collar - or a registered microchip
- 6At the dog parks: leashed until inside, three dogs per person
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Colorado Springs makes it the owner’s duty to restrain a dog “by means of confinement, collar and leash” so it does not run at large “upon any park or other public place in the City,” or trespass on another’s property (6.7.107). At large means off your premises and “not under direct physical restraint” (6.7.102); the code sets no leash-length cap for dogs. The exceptions are police animals and feral cats in trap-neuter-return programs, and the Mayor can restrict animals at special events on city property - licensed assistance dogs exempt (6.7.107(C)-(E)). On park land the rule is explicit: dogs may be led or carried but not loose, except in designated dog parks and off-leash areas, where the dog stays under your control at all times (9.9.302). Letting a dog defecate on park land without removing it is unlawful (9.9.301). One caution: the Garden of the Gods run is unfenced and close to 30th Street - the city asks for “appropriate command control” there. Fines are set by the Municipal Court’s schedule rather than printed in the code (6.7.101).
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Colorado Springs’s streets.
- 1Leash, quiet streets, short and sniffy - calm hours, near home, ending before your dog is wound up. An off-leash area is not day-one material for a brand-new dog.
- 2Sniffing is the point - let your dog pause and sniff instead of focusing on distance. More on the sniff walk.
- 3Settle first, explore later - more on the first days: a routine for a newly adopted dog and a calm start to every walk.
The off-leash areas, for later
Once your dog has settled. The city lists three open dog runs and four fenced dog parks:
- 1Antlers Park Dog Park - Antlers Park, downtown - fenced; separate small- and large-dog areas, double gates, synthetic turf and a water station
- 2Rampart Park Dog Park - just east of the baseball diamond - fenced
- 3Cheyenne Meadows Park Dog Park - south portion, off Charmwood Dr. and Canoe Creek Dr. - fenced native-grass area
- 4Palmer Park Dog Park - the old baseball field, 0.3 miles from the Maizeland entrance - fenced; the park closes at 9 p.m. year-round
- 5Palmer Park Dog Run - Yucca Flats - unfenced run; the park closes at 9 p.m. year-round
- 6Red Rock Canyon Dog Loop - designated loop south of the main parking lot, Red Rock Canyon Open Space - unfenced
- 7Garden of the Gods Dog Run - east of Rock Ledge Ranch and south of Gateway Rd - unfenced, close to 30th St.; command control needed
Three runs and four parks are the city’s own lists on its Dog Parks page. Park hours are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. November through April and 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. May through October - Palmer Park closes at 9 p.m. year-round. Posted rules at the fenced parks: a handler at least 16, leashed until inside the enclosure, no more than three dogs per person, a muzzle for dogs with an aggressive history, and pinch or spike collars off inside. Some nearby off-leash parks - Bear Creek, for one - are run by El Paso County, not the city. Everywhere outside a designated area, the leash rule applies again - including every city trail.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
Every dog (and cat) over four months needs a license - within 30 days of turning four months - and a current rabies vaccination comes first (6.8.102, 6.8.103). The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region issues the licenses as the city’s contractor: $20 a year spayed or neutered, $40 for three years; $35 a year intact, $75 for three; owners 65 and over pay $10 or $25 for an altered dog, and a $20 late fee applies 30 days after expiration. Service dogs that meet ADA guidelines are licensed free. The license and rabies tags go on a substantial collar - a registered microchip satisfies the rule instead (6.8.107). At home the limit is four dogs over four months, unless the property is a licensed kennel (6.7.106(F)).
Sources
Sources: City Code of Colorado Springs 6.7.107 (duty to restrain), 6.7.102 (definitions), 6.7.101 (penalties), 6.8.101-6.8.108 (licensing) and 9.9.301-9.9.302 (park rules): codelibrary.amlegal.com. Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region licensing (current fees). Dog-park roster, posted rules and hours: city Dog Parks page, Park Hours and Rules, Antlers Dog Park page and the Garden of the Gods Dog Map. Pins from the city’s official parks GIS layer. All verified November 2, 2026.
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