Ellen Park Sculpture Park

Love bringing my 2 pups here. I can see the pent up pup steam rolling off of them as they play with the other dogs. Haven’t met even a grumpy old man dog here yet. Gets the 3 star rating for cutting corners and not having the 2 gates to get in to keep my unleashed dogs from possibly running into grand/​olive

I really enjoy bringing my dog here. Good size with friendly people and pups in my experiences. So convenient for the many many Central West End dog owners. Benches for owners to sit and chill. I even picked up free SLU wi-​fi.

My dog had a blast running and playing with the other dogs. It is large enough for long running and romping but not so big that you loose sight of your dog.
However, DO NOT WEAR NICE CLOTHES. There are a few spots where dogs have dug holes and they filled up with water. There’s also wet sloshy places in the grass. It just doesn’t seem to drain very well. The other dogs will most definitely jump on you and get you muddy. And when they run past, you will get mud and water slung on you. We went on a very sunny nice day and still we were dirty when we left. Bring towels and wipes to clean your own dog. Cargo liner or seat liner is a must!
This is not a place for small dogs. The fence has wide iron bars that they could slip through. I also wish there was a double gate system so dogs can’t escape. My dog was following people trying to leave and I was worried she would leave with them.
It is also nice that this park is free. We are from out of town and needed a place to play and it was perfect. The other people and dogs there were very nice. I wasn’t uncomfortable at all. People introduced themselves and asked to pet my dog which I appreciated.
I did make the mistake of bringing treats to give my dog for good behavior but that invited all the other dogs to come and jump on me and grab my treat bag; which I did not appreciate lol. My mistake though.
All in all this is a nice free play park for the dogs. Hopefully someday they switch the grass for turf. Of course for that improvement they would have to get funding from somewhere.
Have fun!

I have stopped going here, 3 dogs have attacked my dog unprovoked. The huge con is that owners arent required to have any documentation of shots, so go at your own risk!

I went here with my big dog for the first time today, and it was great! There were lots of dogs there for mine to play and socialize with, and I thought the park was a good size for dogs to have room to run and explore a bit. Of course the best part is that it’s free! The only reason I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because there was really no grass, and even though it hasn’t rained in a while, it was still pretty muddy. I’d love to take my dog back tomorrow but I know it’s supposed to rain, so I feel like I need to wait a while for the park to dry out and not be a mud pit before we can go back. We’ll definitely be returning to this park though!

I’m pretty surprised at the people docking points because they’ve encountered aggressive dogs. That’s like being mad at restaurant for obnoxious customers in the booth next to you.
Dude, this place is great. There’s always ample street parking, it’s in a cool little part of town (I always enjoy gazing at the architecture, scrolling marquee, glittering vertical Fox Theater sign.), plenty of room for pups to run, grassy (as opposed to straight dirt like some dog parks), plenty of places to sit, cool sculptures, a water fountain and bowls, poop bag dispenser… and it’s mothertruckin’ FREE!
I have never encountered aggressive dogs. Only my own. He’s kind of a tool. Small dog douchebag syndrome. I’m hoping the dog park will help socialize him a little more. There are mostly big dogs that like to romp around and play, and then my little troll-​under-​the-​park-​bench that barks when other dogs come near. But he’s never caused any problems other than being annoying.
Someone please come bring their small dogs (not smaller than 10lbs… like has been mentioned, tiny pups can slip between the fence bars) so my 16lb fuzzbutt can have playmates he doesn’t get all Napoleon Complex around.

Cool park with a decent amount of space to run and frolic with your furry friends. There are some spaces where the fence doesn’t quite meet the ground, or even gaps between the fences, so I would not recommend bringing small dogs or mischievous puppies. If they get out, they could go straight into traffic.
As others have noted, there seem to be some incidents with aggressive dogs. My very first visit, I hadn’t been there for longer than 5 minutes before two dogs REALLY got into it – snarling and snapping, the works. Both owners were able to separate their dogs and left shortly afterward, but it’s still sort of upsetting to see dogs fight like that.
Also, the water fountain was busted when I visited (late June 2014) so bring LOTS of water as there doesn’t seem to be a backup option. There are a bunch of bowls strewn around the park for use as needed, which is nice.
I added 1 star to the rating because the park is FREE. Yaaaay free!

[PROS]
+ Convenient location
+ No membership fees
+ Sculptures = fun things for the pups to pee on
[CONS]
— Some aggressive dogs
— Mudpit galore during rainy season
— Small dogs are able to wriggle out of the fence
Great central location for people living around the area and/​or who go to school at SLU. Parking is usually not an issue — as a previous reviewer mentioned, you can usually find street parking along Lindell/​Olive, though you may have to park further away during rush hour.
The park is a manageable size for the owners — the pups can’t run away too far or get into much trouble out of your sight. The sculptures make for fun objects for the dogs to pee on and sniff to their heart’s content.
During the springtime/​rainy season, this place is an absolute nightmare for the humans but muddy heaven on earth for the dogs. The grass is patchy and there are a lot of puddles of muddy goo. If the park has some pouncy dogs, it’s game over for your clothing. Don’t go anywhere near this park up to a week after it rains unless you want to have a spectacular time wrangling the mud out of your pup in an epic bathing struggle.
Keep an eye on your pups as there have been some aggressive dogs around — my friend’s lab got a nasty cut near his eye after being body slammed into a bench by a larger dog. Also, the fence bars are wide enough for small pups to squeeze through so beware. I would have a heart attack if my dog ran out into the busy Grand traffic :-O

beautiful dog park in the cwe! no membership fees but parking can be hard to come by at certain times of day.
unfortunately my dog (7lbs) is a bit too small to play with the dogs in this park as most are medium to large sized dogs though i have seen small lab puppies who do just fine running around with the other dogs.

This is a fantastic place for anyone living around the CWE who has a furry roommate in need of some exercise and socializing. It’s located on the corner of Grand and Lindell, across from the St. Francis Xavier College Church. The location was originally a dedicated sculpture park owned by SLU but has been adopted as the Six Flags for all well-​behaved dogs in the area. The park is bustling on the weekends and starting around 5PM on the weekdays.
Types of Dogs:
The majority of dogs are on the larger size (e.g. Labrador, Collie, etc.), but there are also a fair number of smaller dogs (8 — 15 lbs). All the dogs are very friendly and play well with one another. (I will note, however, that there was an incident with a Rottweiler, but this was some time ago and I haven’t seen him since). I would caution those with very small dogs (less than 10 lbs) as they unfortunately run the risk of being knocked over by the larger dogs during play. The park, however, is very large and can accommodate many dogs, so every dog can find a quiet area to relax and dog-​watch.
Types of People:
They’re also friendly.
Entrance:
Two gates
— At the East corner of the Lindell side
— Near the Grand/​Lindell intersection on the Grand side
Amenities:
— Very interesting sculptures (you may interpret that any way you want)
— Benches and tables
— Trees for shade
— Doo-​doo bag stations (These are generally kept stocked, but do bring your own to play it safe)
— Doggie water fountain (The fountain is on the ground and can be activated by stepping on a button. It does, however, malfunction fairly frequently, so bring a bottle of water if its warm or if you plan to stay for awhile)
— And of course, lots of grass to pee on
Parking:
Metered parking all around the park ($ 0.75/hr).
Membership Fees:
NONE! So come and bring your dogs! (and some quarters for parking…)
Unwritten Rules That Are Now Written and Thus Are No Longer Unwritten:
— Clean up after yourself and your furry friend (this includes dog poop, trash, cigarette butts, etc.)
— Don’t bring dogs that are aggressive or overly-​territorial
— Let the dog off its leash soon after you enter and close the gate
— Be aware of nearby dogs when entering and exiting through the gate, and always make sure it stays closed
— Be careful when bringing very young or very small dogs