Worthington Dog Park

You may have seen Ellicott City, Maryland on the news recently. The town was inundated by flood waters from the Patapsco River over Memorial Day Weekend, 2018. After eight inches of rain fell in a six-hour period, torrential waters flooded the city's downtown. And this wasn't the first time, either. There was a massive flood in July of 2016. 

In fact, there have been several floods throughout Ellicott City's history, dating back to 1768, when the town had only recently been incorporated. Even then, the people of Ellicott City knew they had a good place to live, and re-built. They would rebuild several times over the next 250 years. The people of Ellicott City don't give up easily. 

So it comes as no surprise that the dog owners of Howard County, where Ellicott City is located, haven't given up on Worthington Off-Leash Dog Park. They lobbied long and hard for the creation of the park, and spend a great deal of time and energy maintaining the Worthington Park specifically, and all other county dog parks, through the creation of the Bark Ranger program.

Now you might think, given the press coverage of the most recent flooding that the Worthington Dog Park is closed, but that is not the case. The park is on high ground, though there has been some damage to the road leading up to it. The county parks department has set up a special hotline for information on the status of parks, including Worthington Dog Park.

Worthington Dog Park may not be the largest dog park you'll ever see or the fanciest. But it is particularly well maintained, in part because of the volunteers. The park is almost three acres, with an enclosure for small dogs that also allows elderly and disabled dogs to play without fear. The main enclosure has some play equipment, such as a climbing ramp and a couple of large metal pipes for a dog to run through.

Both enclosures have plenty of benches and poop bags. There is a small covered seating area as well. Both sides of the park have water fountains for people and dogs, however, the fountains are turned off during the coldest part of the year, to avoid any frozen pipes. There are usually a few volunteers around who are ready to talk with you about dogs, the park, or Ellicott City's beautiful, and occasionally water-logged, downtown.