Born To Run Dog Park and Hiking Trails, 10 Acres, Litchfield, IL

Ten acres of scenic, secluded, fully fenced pasture and woods with full access to all hiking trails and half acre pond. Be prepared for a good workout with your dog as you explore all the ins and outs of this unique property. One tip we can give you is If you see a path leading somewhere, take it, you never know what you may find at the end of it. Also try to go up top on the hilly property in the beginning of your hike and work your way down to the lower parts as you do the hike. You can see the property and surrounding area better at the higher elevations and get a better feel on how the property is set up. We walk or jog at least five laps of the entire property with our seven australian shepherds every day so we are used to all the challenges the property presents but it will be interesting to see how normal people and dogs handle everything. If you or your dog are faint of heart or not in proper physical condition, we recommend that you reconsider doing the property. You may need more than one hour to go over the whole thing with your dog so bring a snack with you and enjoy it while sitting at the picnic table by the pond. All we ask is that you maintain the cleanliness of the property as it should be spotless with regard to animal waste and trash except for an occasional present from our thoroughbred horse. Also be safe in all that you and your dog do, navigating the property in its entirety can be a bit tricky at times, take proper precautions with tick preventatives for you and your dog, but most of all have some fun with your dog. Our private dog park and hiking trails are patterned after the famous Allerton Park open meadows and hiking trails in Monticello, IL, https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/illinois/robert-allerton-park/photos, which we must have run hundreds if not thousands of miles on while living and training there for marathons with our three aussies at the time. When we moved to Litchfield ten years ago, we wanted to keep experiencing those Allerton Park nature trails in our own backyard, we even have a butterfly alley at a certain time during the summer just like the famous one at Allerton Park and now we want to share all that with the people of Illinois and Missouri who may not get the chance to do that with their dog off leash the way public parks and trails are set up now. So enjoy and know that with our trusty 33 hp Kubota tractor, we put up every gate, fence post and inch of horse fencing on the property that you see and it is designed to keep all our animals in including very active dogs and livestock. There was nothing here when we first moved in except a few stretches of old rusty fencing which you may still see in some areas covered over by our new fencing. We wanted to keep it there as a reminder of what this property used to be and what we had to do to turn it in to what it is now. One more thing, if you have young puppies or rescue dogs that have never experienced being released off leash in an open area like this, bring them and try it, they will have a great time and they will learn so much and gain confidence in what they are capable of doing physically and mentally. Let them go off leash and just follow them around as they explore the property on their terms. You will see a side of them you never knew they had. A new feature we just added for the winter season is called Winter Sports Bonanza, more information on it can be found here and in the Extras section of this web site. Enjoy your favorite winter sport while your dogs try to keep up with you instead of the other way around. You have a choice of three winter activities to participate in. If you think of any more, let us know. 1. Ice skating on a frozen half acre pond and your dogs can go on it too if they are brave enough. Put your skates on at the picnic table right by the pond. 2. Cross country skiing on a hilly 10 acre property, make sure to walk the property beforehand to see exactly where you want to ski since snow amounts on the ground can vary. 3. Sleigh riding on some of the many hills on the property, not sure how fast you can go on them, have never tried it myself but hook up your dogs to a sled and have them pull you around the 10 acre property if there is enough snow on the ground to do it. All this depends on the weather of course and if you want to do one of these three activities during your visit, please let us know ahead of time and we will let you know right before your visit if the property is in the proper condition to do it in. These winter activities deserve special attention to safety so make sure you are in excellent physical condition and you know what your are doing if you attempt one or more of these activities. This is probably not the place to try cross country skiing, dog sledding or ice skating for the first time.

100% of guests said this spot was as clean as expected during their visit.

There are hiking trails through the woods that may have branches and exposed tree roots that someone could trip on if not careful, most dogs should be able handle it pretty easily. Dogs should be watched if they go in the pond and swim, an open body of water is always a potential hazard. This spot has a water feature, make sure to review these guidelines for visiting spots with water before visiting: https://help.sniffspot.com/article/167-how-to-keep-your-dog-safe-around-pools-and-water. The property is hilly so be prepared to get out of breath when walking or jogging it with your dog. Try to go at an easy pace if your dog allows it during the hot summer months and rest at the picnic table by the pond if you need it. It can get hot out there in full sun and the dogs will feel it too. Have them jump in the pond to cool off, they will probably just go a foot deep in it at most unless they are olympic swimmers. The thin layer of algae that you see on top of the water during the summer months is harmless, our seven aussies dogs jump in and swim in it every day without a problem. The property can have some ticks from mid May through mid August, some years are worse than others depending on the weather, as we all know there is no way to control what nature does. We give all our dogs a three month flea and tick preventative treatment in early May called Bravecto and that holds them in good standing with any ticks they may encounter along the way throughout the summer. All seven of our aussies were born on the property and for the past eight years and each day of those eight years we have taken at least one walk or jog with all of them around the property rain or shine without any problem with ticks, so please give your dog a proper tick and flea treatment before doing the property. We recommend you also put insect repellent containing 20-40% DEET on your arms, legs and shoes before hiking the trails just like you would with any other outdoor park in Illinois during the summer. When you walk through nature fully exposed to the elements, always take the proper precautions, use proper tick and flea preventative treatments during the summer and wear a jacket during the winter.