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- Winnekenni Park in Haverhill with your dog: Kenoza Lake and 9 miles of trails
Winnekenni Park
Winnekenni Park in Haverhill with your dog: Kenoza Lake and 9 miles of trails
Winnekenni was Haverhill's first public park, bought by the city in 1895 together with the stone castle Dr. James R. Nichols built from glacial boulders. Today it is the city's largest, and its 2026 trail signs say the land is conserved for public enjoyment and to protect Kenoza Lake and its drinking water. That second purpose explains why the dog rules read the way they do.
The rule
Leashed, cleaned up after and kept out of the lake, and the reason is drinking water
The city's 2026 kiosk at the Saltonstall Trailhead lists pets on leash among the permitted activities and asks visitors to restrain dogs on leashes and clean up after them. Chapter 193, Article IV of the city code says the same at more length: dogs under the owner's control and restrained on leashes, solid waste collected immediately and removed from the site, and no dogs or horses in the water bodies of a conservation area or on their ice. The kiosk's list of prohibitions starts with no swimming, pets included.
The reason is printed at the top of the same sign: the land is conserved for public enjoyment and for the protection of Kenoza Lake and its drinking water. Hunting, fishing and boating are banned at Winnekenni, along with camping, open fires, alcohol and motorized vehicles, though Class 1 to 3 pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed. Fines run $50, $100 and then $300, each day a new offense, and the kiosk asks visitors to report violations to the Conservation Department at 978-374-2334 or Haverhill Police at 978-373-1212.
- Leash on, with the dog under your control
- Waste collected and taken out of the park
- No dogs in Kenoza Lake, Winnekenni Basin or Plug Pond, or on their ice
- Hours: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset
The trails
9.42 miles of easy to moderate trail, from the Dudley Porter shore path to the Mansion Trail
The city rates Winnekenni's trails easy to moderate and lists hiking, biking, horse riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and dog walking. The 2026 kiosk map, a cooperative trail project between the city and MassTrails, names the routes: the Dudley Porter Trail along the Kenoza Lake shore, the Castle Trail, the Mansion Trail and the Plug Pond Trail through the woods, and the Ralph S. Vose Jogging Path beside Winnekenni Basin. A lakeshore path with a no-water rule is the place to keep the leash shortest.
Size depends on who is counting. The park page says 700 acres including Kenoza Lake; the ordinance describes the conservation area as about 550 acres around Kenoza Lake and Winnekenni Basin; and the city puts the protected forest of Winnekenni and neighboring Plug Pond at nearly 400 acres. In that forest, mixed oaks dominate alongside hemlock, beech, birch, hickory, red maple and pine, the understory holds great laurel and young American chestnuts, and copper beeches line the trails near the Birchbrow Estate.
Parking
Four places to park: the entrance lot, Castle Road, Saltonstall and the Castle Trailhead
The city lists the main entrance at 347 Kenoza Avenue with a parking lot, roadside spaces along Castle Road, a lot at the Saltonstall Trailhead and a lot at the Castle Trailhead behind the carriage house of Winnekenni Castle. The ordinance adds a rule for cars, which the kiosk repeats: park in designated areas only. Choose by the walk you want: the entrance lot sits near the Vose path and the basin, and the castle lots put you closer to the wooded trails on the hill.
Castle Road needs care with a dog. It is a park road with roadside parking, the city lists sledding among the park's pastimes, and the ordinance bans sledding on or onto Castle Road. Clip the leash on inside the car and keep your dog on the side away from traffic. Nobody may enter Winnekenni Castle without the city's written permission, and the castle grounds keep their own after-hours permissions, so plan a dog walk for the trails.
- 01
Pick a lot: 347 Kenoza Avenue, Castle Road, Saltonstall or the Castle Trailhead
- 02
Park in a designated space only
- 03
Leash up before you open the car door
- 04
Walk on the right and step aside for bikes
- 05
Keep your dog off the shoreline on the Dudley Porter Trail
- 06
Bag the waste and carry it out of the park
When to go
No hunting in any season, busy summer weekends and a frozen lake that stays off limits
Winnekenni is one of only three Haverhill conservation areas, with Tattersall Farm and John's Woods, where the ordinance bans hunting, trapping and carrying firearms or bows, so fall is a good season to bring a dog here. Other users fill the rest of the year: bikes and horses on the trails, families at the castle, and in winter cross-country skiers, snowshoers and sledders. Weekday mornings, soon after the half-hour-before-sunrise opening, suit a dog still learning to pass people calmly.
The park's wildlife lives near the water. The city lists Canada geese, blue heron, mallards and turtles along with deer and woodpeckers, and a dog that lunges at a goose ends up in the water the rules keep it out of, so practice a leave-it before the lake trail. In winter the ban covers the ice too, which is the safer rule anyway for a dog on a frozen lake. Ticks wait in the leaf litter; the CDC's busiest months are April to September, so check your dog at the car.
- No hunting at Winnekenni in any season
- Leave-it practice before the lakeshore trail
- Ice is off limits to dogs, like the water
- Tick check before the drive home
Dogtown
Water play belongs in a pool: a Gloucester daycare day for a dog that loves to swim
A retriever that stares at Kenoza Lake for nine miles needs its water somewhere else. We do not take dogs to Winnekenni, but our outdoor turf yard at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester has pools and platforms, and daycare dogs use them in matched playgroups of 7 to 10, at $42 a full day or $33 a half day. A free evaluation comes first, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30, and since the Pup Van does not run to Haverhill, ask us what is possible for pick-up.
For the dog that comes back from the drumlins muddy anyway, a bath and brush runs $55 to $95 by size and needs no evaluation, and nail clipping adds $16. Shed Release, at $10, lifts the loose undercoat a double-coated dog collects in leaf litter, and the antiseptic or fungal shampoo add-on, at $8, is there for itchy or irritated skin. Book the next groom at pick-up and save $5 on it.
At Dogtown
Where the water is allowed
Daycare with pools on the turf yard in Gloucester, and a bath by size that needs no evaluation.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Are dogs allowed at Winnekenni Park?
Can my dog swim in Kenoza Lake?
Where do I park at Winnekenni Park?
Is there hunting at Winnekenni Park?
Which trails at Winnekenni suit a dog?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- City of Haverhill: conservation areas, rules and regulations (Ch. 193, Art. IV)
- City of Haverhill: Winnekenni Park
- City of Haverhill: Saltonstall Trailhead kiosk sign and map, 2026 (image)
- CDC: preventing tick bites
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Kenoza is off limits; our pools are not.
Book a bath and brush online or in the Dogtown app with no evaluation, or start daycare with a free weekday evaluation.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
