First walks in Minneapolis.
In Minneapolis, your dog stays effectively restrained by chain or leash in every street, park and public place - certified assistance and police dogs excepted - with nine listed off-leash dog parks, one closing to off-leash use December 21, all requiring a paid permit. The city’s own rules and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances and the park board’s dog-park pages.
- 1Streets, parks, school grounds and public places: effectively restrained by chain or leash - except officially designated off-leash areas, and certified assistance or police dogs (fine print)
- 2Off-leash play: nine listed dog parks, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. - a paid permit per dog is required
- 3Two carry notices: Minnehaha closes to off-leash use December 21, 2026 (on-leash only after); St. Anthony’s east entrance is closed through December 31 (west entrance open)
- 4Scoop everywhere - and carry the equipment to pick up; it is a legal duty
- 5City license from four months - rabies vaccination is a condition
- 6At the dog parks: three dogs per handler, under control and in sight at all times
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Minneapolis makes it unlawful to let a dog be on “any street, alley, public park, school ground, or public place without being effectively restrained by chain or leash, except in areas officially designated for off leash activities” - and even on your own unfenced lot next to a street, the dog must be restrained from moving beyond it (64.50(a)). Certified guide and service dogs and official police dogs are excepted (64.50(d)). The code sets no leash-length cap. The scoop rule has a second half people miss: you must clean up and carry “suitable equipment for picking up, removal and sanitary disposal” whenever you are out with the dog (64.50(c)). Tethering at home means a tether at least three times the dog’s length, no more than five pounds, with the dog unable to reach any sidewalk or street (64.50(b)). The designated off-leash areas run on a permit: one per dog from Minneapolis Animal Care and Control - residents need a current city dog license and proof of rabies vaccination first, non-residents the rabies proof; permits are valid until the January 31 after issuance, dogs stay leashed entering and leaving, and dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs are banned outright (64.55). Dogs in heat are confined, full stop (64.60). Two current park-board notices: the Minnehaha off-leash area stays open for off-leash use until December 21, 2026 and is on-leash-only after that (permit holders get refund-option emails in November), and the St. Anthony dog park’s east entrance is closed through December 31 - the west entrance stays open.
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Minneapolis’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 dog parks, for later
Once your dog has settled. The park board lists nine off-leash dog parks - every one requires a permit, and two carry current notices:
- 1Dinky Off-Leash Dog Park - 711 11th Ave SE, Marcy-Holmes
- 2Franklin Terrace - 925 Franklin Terrace, Seward
- 3Gateway - 1099 4th Ave S, downtown
- 4Lake of the Isles - within Lake of the Isles Park; pin from the park board’s own page
- 5Loring Park - within Loring Park; pin from the park board’s own page
- 6Lyndale Farmstead - 3900 Bryant Ave S
- 7Minnehaha - 5399 Minnehaha Park Drive S - open for off-leash use until December 21, 2026; on-leash only after
- 8St. Anthony Parkway - east entrance closed through December 31; west entrance open
- 9Victory Prairie - 4701 Russell Ave N
Nine is the park board’s own list, and the permit is “valid at all nine dog parks” - one of them, Minnehaha, closes to off-leash use on December 21, 2026, so check the board’s project page before a special trip. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (the city’s general park hours run to midnight). The permit: $38 a year for a Minneapolis resident’s first dog ($27 each additional), $66 for non-residents ($38 additional), or $5 per dog per day - online, by mail, in person, or at 612-230-6400. Posted rules: leashed until inside, three dogs per handler, dogs under control and in sight at all times, leashed at the first sign of aggression, no dogs in heat, no dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs, always clean up - and the tips add no food, no toys, no glass. On the map, two pins come from the park board’s own pages, six are geocoded from the board’s official addresses, and the St. Anthony pin is a general park anchor. Everywhere outside the fence, the leash rule applies again.
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 kept in the city more than five days needs a Minneapolis license from Animal Care and Control: $25 a year spayed or neutered ($75 for three years), $50 unaltered, with a $15 discount for owners 65 and over or on limited income, and a $200 lifetime option for altered, microchipped dogs - certification of rabies vaccination is a condition of the license (64.10, 64.30). In public the dog wears a collar or harness; the tags themselves are optional if the dog is licensed, microchipped and the chip is registered with the city (64.20). At home, the cap is three animals (dogs, cats, ferrets or rabbits over four months) per dwelling without a city permit (64.100).
Sources
Sources: Minneapolis Code of Ordinances ch. 64, Dogs, Cats, Ferrets, and Rabbits (64.10-64.30 licensing; 64.50 leashing, tethers, feces; 64.55 off-leash areas and permits; 64.60 dogs in heat; 64.100 number limit): library.municode.com. Dog-park roster, permits, fees, rules and closure notices: Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board dog parks and the Minnehaha decommissioning project page; city pet licensing. Pins: two from the park board’s own pages, six geocoded from the board’s official addresses, one general park anchor - no official point layer exists. All verified November 2, 2026.
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