Barks & Recreation dog park dedication in Grand Chute, May 27, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — ‘Barks & Recreation‘ is now open for business.
Complete with a dog-themed countdown, officials cut the ribbon Thursday morning to dedicate the dog park.
“Today is the opening of the long-awaited, much-anticipated Outagamie County Dog Park, otherwise known as Barks & Recreation. We had a community-wide contest for the naming. We had hundreds of submissions, narrowed it down to Barks & Recreation and a few others. So, that’s the winner,” said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
The 15-acre, $1.4 million park is located near the main campus of Fox Valley Technical College. Construction began last July.
“We have both a large and a small-dog area. Off to the northeast, we have an agility area with equipment set up for folks to run their dogs through agility trials. We have over 70 parking stalls away from the traffic, so it’s a safer environment, a more controlled environment. We have concrete going in, seeding going in. We’re going to have water stations for the dogs,” said Outagamie County Parks Director Justin Schumacher. “A memorial [will be] set up. We’re working with our Veterans Services Office on both a memorial for pets and a memorial for military and service dogs.”
Fox Valley Humane Association Director of Development Anna Wienkes and her dog, Retta, put the park to the test on its opening day.
“I think this is amazing. I think it’s awesome that we have a new place, that all of our puppies can hang out and run around and have a good time,” said Wienkes.
Nelson agreed, adding, “Obviously, as a dog owner personally, I will spend a lot of time here.”
Barks & Recreation is free to enter. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The new dog park is the culmination of years of planning that began in 2018, when Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste completed permitting for its next landfill expansion. Because the county’s existing dog park is located within the footprint of that future expansion, county officials evaluated several county-owned properties before selecting the new site near Brewster Village.
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