Amid a dog park desert, Ellsworth is soliciting community feedback around the possible installation of the city’s first public dog park.
The city does not currently have a free, fenced-in recreational space solely dedicated to off-leash dogs. The closest public dog park appears to be in Orland, over 20 minutes from Ellsworth.
The city’s parks and recreation department is hosting a public workshop on April 30 to gather community feedback on the idea. Officials are also distributing a survey asking residents to weigh in on potential amenities, including an agility area, splash pad and watering station. The city is also seeking suggestions for the park’s name.
One resident who completed the survey said they drive to Belfast — about 45 minutes from Ellsworth — to access a dog park, according to Roddy Ehrlenbach, the city’s parks and recreation director. Bangor also has a free dog park, he added.
The idea of an Ellsworth dog park has circulated for well over a decade. A Facebook group named Friends of Ellsworth Dog Park formed a committee to design a budget proposal, but those efforts later stalled. The page, with more than 500 followers, was last updated in 2019.
In 2023, a group of Bar Harbor residents, known as the Friends of Bar Harbor Dog Park, pushed for a proposed dog park by the town’s ballfields, though the plans unraveled when the parks and recreation committee declined to recommend its construction to the town council, according to the Mount Desert Islander. Critics of the proposed park were concerned about the noise and proximity to the town’s ballfields.
There are no public fenced-in dog parks on Mount Desert Island, though leashed dogs are allowed in Acadia National Park and unleashed dogs are allowed on some other publicly accessible properties
A dog park was the third highest community priority identified by the department’s needs assessment last fall, following more walking trails and a community garden, Ehrlenbach said.
After the workshop, the city will form a committee of community members — anyone is welcome to join — to oversee the park’s planning, Ehrlenbach said.
The city could start preliminary site work of the new park in fall 2026, pending public input and the planning board and city council’s approval.
The city has identified grants that could cover the majority of the park’s development, with funding ranging between $175,000 and $200,000. The final budget will depend on what the public wishes to include in the design, though the city still has to apply for — and win — the grant funding, Ehrlenbach said.
Officials are considering a city-owned parcel of land at the intersection of Lejok Street and State Street, by Ellsworth High School, though public input may prioritize a different location.
“We believe it’s important to have the location accessible through various modes of transportation,” Ehrlenbach said. “We want people to be able to walk from within the city limits to the dog park, rather than have to get in their car and drive.”
Ehrlenbach noted that while the intersection is the most controlled pedestrian crossing along the city’s busy commercial corridor on State and High streets, it is also prime real estate. If the city retains the parcel, for whatever reason, it could lose out on potential property tax revenue if a developer expressed interest in the site, he said.
“That’s not lost on us,” Ehrlenbach said. “We’re trying to do the dance between providing value to the citizens of Ellsworth through recreational assets and place making, but at the same time honoring some of the concerns from the folks who aren’t all that excited about another park or green space if it means displacing property tax opportunities.”
