For more than three decades, the off-leash area at the south end of Minnehaha Regional Park has been where Minneapolis dogs go to swim in the Mississippi. The Park Board voted in June to end that by the end of 2026. Its staff plan sets the date earlier: the off-leash area is scheduled to be formally decommissioned on Monday, December 21, 2026.
We read the resolution, the meeting minutes and the staff plan in the Park Board's own records. Here's what's changing, why, and where to take your dog instead.
The short version
- Target date: The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) staff plan says the "formal decommissioning" of the off-leash area is intended "to occur December 21, 2026." The resolution's deadline is Dec. 31 (staff plan, Sept. 2, 2026 board packet).
- Until then: The area is still open for off-leash use (MPRB project page). The park page also lists intermittent closures Oct. 13–24 for utility work (park page).
- After: The land stays open to the public, but dogs must be on a leash.
- Replacement: None chosen. A separate search for new off-leash sites is just starting.
Why it's closing
The off-leash area sits partly within Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring), a place sacred to the Dakota and other Tribes. Mni Owe Sni was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Place in 2023. The Prairie Island Indian Community, Upper Sioux Community, Lower Sioux Indian Community and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community advocated for that listing, according to a National Park Service and Minnesota Historical Society presentation to the Park Board in May.
That presentation describes the area as a traditional gathering place where Dakota, Anishinaabe, Iowa and Ho-Chunk people met, and one that "remains a place for ceremony, peace, and reflection." It lists archaeological contexts going back to ancestral Native American presence around 13,000 years ago. The details are confidential. The National Register nomination has been restricted from public view because of sensitive cultural information. Archaeological and burial records are reserved for qualified archaeologists and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers under federal law and Minnesota statute.
According to the resolution itself (2026-114), the Park Board learned the dog park was likely partly within Mni Owe Sni "during due diligence work supporting demarcation of the off-leash recreation area." In other words, the issue came up while the board was planning to mark and fence the area. After hearing from the National Park Service, the Minnesota Historical Society and Dakota community representatives, the board concluded that the off-leash area "is incompatible with Mni Owe Sni as a Traditional Cultural Place."
How the vote went
The official minutes show how it played out:
- June 3, Planning Committee: Commissioner Jason Garcia's resolution passed 5–0 (minutes).
- June 17, full board: Commissioner Cathy Abene (District 6) proposed an amendment. It would have had staff study whether the off-leash area should continue, rather than direct its closure. It also noted that the area "is a loved and busy area of the park" warranting "meaningful input from dog owners, Indigenous community members, environmental advocates, and park users." The amendment failed 3–6. Abene and Commissioners Kedar Deshpande and Charles Rucker voted yes.
- The board then tightened the deadline language to "implementation to occur by no later than December 31, 2026." It passed the resolution 8–1, with Abene voting no (June 17 minutes).
What dog owners are saying
The pushback has been organized. A Change.org petition from Friends of Minnehaha Dog Park, "Stop the Rushed Shutdown of the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park," has passed 2,400 signatures. It asks the board to "halt this resolution, engage in a transparent public process, and commit to a compromise that protects sacred spaces without destroying a vital community resource."
The biggest practical loss owners cite is water. Minnehaha's off-leash area runs down to the Mississippi, and dog owners have argued it's the only place in the city where a dog can swim off-leash.
Videos of Park Board meetings, including public comment, are on the Park Board's YouTube channel.
Tell us: Are you a Minnehaha regular? Where are you planning to go instead, and what should a replacement site have? Tell us here. We may include reader responses in a follow-up.
What will change on site
The staff decommissioning plan (dated Aug. 5, filed with the board Sept. 2) lays out the details:
- Signs: Temporary signs will explain the timeline and how to join the search for a new site. At decommissioning, all off-leash signage comes down and standard "dogs must be on leash" signs go up.
- Gate and fencing: The gate and "a small amount of fencing" at the main entrance will be removed.
- Trails: Informal footpaths will be blocked with brush piles and snow fencing. Logs, mulch and "restoration in progress" signs will go in eroded areas, including the main trail down to the riverfront beach.
- Restoration: Invasive-species removal and erosion work are planned, coordinated with the National Park Service, which manages adjacent land.
- Permits: Off-leash permit holders will get a letter. The plan says staff will "determine an approach to respond to customer refund requests" for annual dog park and parking permits, so if you bought an annual permit for Minnehaha, watch for that.
- An in-person informational meeting for dog park users is planned. No date has been posted yet.
On enforcement, the plan is candid. MPRB Park Police "have no capacity to patrol the land parcel." Staff will rely on education, the changes to site access, and new uses of the land instead. If off-leash use continues, the plan says staff "may need to temporarily close access to the adjacent metered parking lot" and the metered parking along Minnehaha Park Drive South. The National Park Service also plans to add leash enforcement on the lands it manages in the Mni Owe Sni area.
The plan also invites Dakota-led land healing and ceremony at the site. It says that work "would move at the speed of trust."
Where the replacement search stands
Resolution 2026-114 directs staff to plan "additional opportunities for off-leash recreation activities at one or more other locations." That process will include a community engagement plan and a technical advisory committee. Staff gave the board an initial update at its Sept. 2 meeting. The staff plan says the full process will come to the board "at a forthcoming regular meeting this fall."
How to weigh in:
- Subscribe to updates on the project page, or contact project manager Tyler Pederson ([email protected]).
- Speak at Open Time during regular board meetings (5:30 p.m.). The next meetings are Oct. 21, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18 (meeting calendar).
Where to take your dog instead
Minneapolis off-leash areas require a city dog license, current rabies vaccination and an MPRB off-leash permit: $38/year for a resident's first dog ($27 each additional), $66 for non-residents ($38 each additional), or $5/day per dog. Hours are 6 a.m.–midnight (MPRB dog parks).
If your dog needs to swim:
- Meeker Island Dog Park (St. Paul, 471 Mississippi River Blvd. N.) is the closest like-for-like swap. It's an off-leash run along the Mississippi with a dog beach, bordered by river bluffs, and it has no fence, so it's only for dogs with reliable recall. Open sunrise–11 p.m., and it may close during high water (City of St. Paul). St. Paul's dog park rules don't require an off-leash permit, but dogs must be licensed and vaccinated, and each person can bring up to three dogs per visit.
If you want fully fenced:
- Lake of the Isles: 1.87 acres, completely fenced, with a separate small-dog area. Street parking only (MPRB).
- St. Anthony Parkway (Northeast): 2.17 acres, completely fenced. Parking west of Columbia Park Golf Learning Center (MPRB).
- Lyndale Farmstead (East Harriet): 0.62 acres, fenced, with a crushed-granite surface because the site doubles as stormwater flood storage. Street parking only (MPRB).
Other Minneapolis off-leash areas: Franklin Terrace, Gateway, Loring Park, Victory Prairie and Dinky. Browse them all in our Twin Cities dog parks directory.
If you swap the river for a lake: check MPRB's blue-green algae advisories before letting your dog in.
If you visit Minnehaha before Dec. 21
- Enter at East 54th Street and Hiawatha Avenue. Pay parking is at East 54th Street and Minnehaha Avenue.
- Expect intermittent closures Oct. 13–24.
- After decommissioning, keep your dog leashed here, and treat it as the cultural site it is.
We'll update this article when the Park Board posts the informational meeting date, the refund policy, or the replacement-site process.
Sources
- MPRB Resolution 2026-114 and staff memo (June 3, 2026)
- MPRB Planning Committee minutes, June 3, 2026
- MPRB proposed amendment by Commissioner Abene (June 12, 2026)
- MPRB Regular Meeting minutes, June 17, 2026
- MPRB Regular Meeting, Sept. 2, 2026: meeting record, including "Process supporting the Superintendent's implementation of Resolution 2026-114" (Aug. 5, 2026), the decommissioning Community Engagement Assessment, and Study Item D 2026-93 (full packet, pp. 150–162)
- National Park Service / Minnesota Historical Society, Mni Owe Sni study item presentation (May 2026)
- National Park Service, Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring)
- MPRB, Minnehaha Dog Park Decommissioning project page · Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park · Dog parks & permits
- City of Saint Paul, Meeker Island Dog Park · Dog Park Rules
- Friends of Minnehaha Dog Park, Change.org petition
