Obdammerweel, Obdam

Although this is not an extensive walk, it is highly rewarding for pups, particularly in summer. The park goes about 2 thirds around a lake so it is not circular, but you don’t necessarily have to come back completely on the same path.

This park is not maintained really, there is a pathway towards the seating area near the lake that does seem to have some grass cutting, but the rest of the area is left to grow and bloom however it wants to, which is what makes it so great for dogs to sniff around in, and there are so many spaces where you can throw training dummies in the long grass for your pup to search for.

It is rather popular, also with some dog walkers or groups meeting up for lunchtime walks, so there are occasionally packs coming your way, but in most parts it’s wide enough to avoid them.

De Weel is a fantastic cooling off spot for hot summers, the lake is pretty much clean enough for dogs all year round, with a couple of sludgy areas in the forest part but nothing you can’t avoid. Your hot dog will have dunked himself about 5 times to cool off before you reach those areas…

Walk around the lake until the park branches off, to the left you have a tree area with 3 paths, one at the side of the lake, one through the middle and one maintained path following the canal on the outside. Follow either one to the end and then just pick a different one to come back. When you get back to the original path, ignore it and go straight on to the path that runs on the other side of the wooded area closer to the road, and follow it round to the beginning again. All in all, it’s a cosy little area.

There can be quite a lot of foxtail grasses so be careful in hot, dry summers where these large seeds can get stuck in your dogs nose and give you a good excuse to visit your friendly vet again…

Free parking bays are in front of the allotments on Dobber, about 500m walk from the park entrance. It looks like a cycle path but yes, you can drive there! Just put Dobber into your Navi and continue walking the direction you drove. Note, the only poop bin in the entire area is in this parking bay.