Thompson Dog Park

Geraldine Thompson was an American social reformer who became known as "The First Lady of New Jersey." A feminist and social worker, she devoted her life to several causes, including female prison reform and public health. She donated money for psychiatric services and college scholarships. She also worked to save wildlife habitats and helped preserve Island Beach, New Jersey as a state park. 

During her lifetime, Geraldine lived at a sizeable estate in Lincroft, New Jersey named Brookdale Farm, where she raised and trained Thoroughbred horses. After her death, she donated over 200 acres to Monmouth county for the creation of a park in her family name. Today, Thompson Park is a beautiful park over 14 miles of paved trails, a sizeable playground, tennis courts, a fishing lake, and an off-leash dog park. 

The Thompson Dog Park is well-designed. The off-leash area is divided into two sections, a larger, main section of over one acre and a smaller section for dogs under thirty-five pounds. The larger section is covered in grass, but the smaller section has cedar wood chips. There is a fountain for people and for dogs just outside the off leash area's fence. Poop bags and trash cans are available inside the larger section of the dog park.

Thompson Park is a big park, but the dog park is very close to the administration building, the visitor's center, and the Creative Arts building. What this means is that the dog park is close to parking and has easy access to bathrooms for people. This also means that the area around the dog park area has a lot of human foot traffic. If your dog is shy around people, it may be a good idea to visit the park early in the morning.

When Geraldine Thompson donated the land that would become Thompson park, she did so because of her firm belief that "children have to feel the ground beneath them and go out into the woods and see the trees and birds." The same is true for dogs, and Thompson Dog Park is a great place for dogs to do just that.