A Winter Haven Guide
Winter Haven is a good dog town.
Winter Haven has a downtown dog park, patios that welcome dogs, miles of lakeside walking, and full veterinary care in town. This guide covers each, and life with a dog at The Jade.
Where the leash comes off.
The city opened the K9 Courtyard (opens in a new tab) in 2024, a fenced run right on the Chain of Lakes Trail downtown, with separate yards for big and small dogs, shade, and water fountains at both heights. It turned the trail into a proper destination walk: out along the lakes, a stop at the yard, and home again.
Simmers-Young Park, a two hundred acre county park on the city’s southwest side, keeps a second fenced dog park with agility equipment and double-gated entries, open sunrise to sunset. Between the two, and the lakeside loops at South Lake Howard Nature Park, a Winter Haven dog does not run out of ground.
Patios and cafes
Patios that welcome dogs.
Dog Dayz Cafe was designed around dogs, on the Veterinary Healthcare Associates campus. The others on the list are lakefront decks and downtown patios where leashed dogs are welcome.
- Dog Dayz CafeA cafe built around dogs, two patios, water fountains for both of you
- HarborsideLakefront seafood on Lake Shipp, dogs welcome on the deck
- Barrel 239A whiskey bar with a turf back patio, up the street from The Jade
- Saturday farmers marketDowntown on Saturday mornings, leashed dogs welcome
Serious care, close by.
Veterinary Healthcare Associates runs a full campus in Winter Haven, with emergency care alongside everyday medicine, which is why the town’s dog cafe lives on its grounds. Routine care, grooming, and boarding are all in town, so a pet household here is not driving to Lakeland or Orlando for the basics.
Dogs and their owners walk the lakeside trails year round, and there is shade for the Florida summer. Walk early in July and August, and carry water for both of you.
Where the dog lives here.
The Jade welcomes up to two pets per home at fifty pounds each, cats and dogs alike. Two fenced pet parks, one in each courtyard, and a pet grooming station are on site. Pet approval, breed rules and pet fees are set by PetScreening, an independent screening service. Assistance animals are never counted as pets, and the limits do not apply to them. Deposits and pet rent are on the pet policy page, and every other fee is at what you’ll pay. Pet policy terms from the property's current published policy; confirm details when you book a tour.
