Kalispell's first dog park now open

Kalispell’s first off-leash dog park is officially complete and open for playtime this week with a grand opening ceremony scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 17.

The $50,000 park encompasses a 3.5-acre fenced in grassy area at Begg Park in South Kalispell and has been in the works for over four years.

Complete with benches, waste disposal stations, walking trails and open fields, the park provides the first-ever space within the city where dogs can legally play off leash.

Debbie McGuinness and her 4-year-old lab mix, Rudder, moved to the Flathead Valley in January, and they both expressed their excitement for the new park.

As Rudder sprinted across the open field after a ball, McGuinness said the park was bigger than she expected and was “absolutely beautiful.”

Kelly Apgar, whose family has been in the area since 1891, said she was also impressed with the park’s size.

“I’m surprised because I haven’t been over here at all in 20 years,” she said. Though Apgar said she has her own property, the space is not open enough for her wily 9-month-old German shepherd, Kwynn, to run out his energy. With a love for roughhousing, the massive young dog jumped at the chance to play with a new-found buddy.

Rudder and Kwynn wrestled their way across the entire length of the park and were soon both panting and covered in slobber.

The park opens daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and was made a reality by the nonprofit group Paws to Play.

The organization has established a set of rules for both four-legged and two-legged park-goers, which include putting the liability for dogs’ behavior, health, safety and waste on owners.

Guidelines for assessing friendly dog behavior and a list of park rules are posted on the park fence as well as on the Paws to Play Facebook page.

The grand opening ceremony will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting, a spin wheel game with prizes, T-shirts and water bowls for sale and volunteer sign-up opportunities.

For more information on the park or to sign up as a volunteer, visit

http://www.pawstoplay.org.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.