Maplewood Dog Park (at Kellogg Park)

Maplewood, Missouri is considered an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, which sits on the state's eastern border with Illinois, roughly between Chicago and Nashville. If you travel west across the country, Missouri is the last place where you see rolling hills and naturally-growing leafy trees, because west of Missouri is where the great plains begin, which means, basically, Kansas and, north of that, Nebraska. 

Maplewood, meanwhile, is a tiny municipality of under 10,000 people, the type of town where 10 of the most fun 15 things to do in town is to drive to St. Louis to visit the zoo, the great arch over the city, the splendid botanical gardens and the history and science museum. St. Louis is a beer and baseball town, home to great brewers and the Cardinals, one of the most popular teams in baseball. 

One of the reasons to spend some time in Maplewood, even if you are just passing through, would certainly be the modestly-sized Maplewood Dog Park except for the point that the park is only available to members and memberships are sold at “50 per dog with a limit of 2 dogs,” which is a hefty fee for Woof to go on a romp if you aren't staying in town very long. 

For residents of Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Shrewsbury, and Brentwood, the fee if $20 for the first dot and five dollars ($5) for the second dog per calendar year. To buy a membership, dog owners must provide contact information, the dog's name and a description, proof of vaccinations, a mug shot (yes, a photo of the dog's face). A digital photo can be used if you send it to the park website. 

For that, you get access to the park that has “lots of water bowls and toys, including Frisbees and tennis balls,” says one online review. In addition, there is a very popular wading pool, “so bring a towel if your dog likes to splash.” Online reviews range from despairing – a review from someone barred from entering because of the membership rule – to glowing. 

Also note, if you can't find Maplewood Park – although the city website has information that is easy to find – this might be because the dog park is inside Kellogg Park. If it does not show up on your GPS system, the park is on West Point Drive in Kellogg Park. “Take Manchester to Laclede Station Road, turn right. At Runnells turn left. At West Point Drive turn right. Follow that to the park.